Foversta provides an exclusive look into the Piaget Altiplano exhibition in Paris, celebrating the brand's mastery of ultra-thin movements. His report highlights key pieces and iconic calibers like the 9P and 12P, offering a visual journey through the collection's history and technical prowess. This article is a must-read for anyone interested in Piaget's heritage in ultra-thin watchmaking.
I attended yesterday the inauguration party of the Altiplano exhibition which takes place at the Printemps Store, 1st Floor, located Boulevard Haussmann in Paris.
For Piaget, it is a way to celebrate its most famous collection and to remind us that one of the expertises of the Manufacture is its mastery in ultra-thin movements... handwind or automatic.
Of course, the exhibition doesn't gather the whole of the Altiplano watches which were produced over the past decades by Piaget but the selection of the displayed watches gives us a good overview of what are the key pieces of the collection. Some iconic movements are also displayed like the 9P or the 12P.
I propose you some pictures but I hope to be able to visit it again and to shoot the watches in better and privileged conditions.
The exhibition is set up on the passerelle of the first floor of the Store:
The decoration at the entrance of the exhibition:
It was a pleasure for me to meet again the watchmaker who is always present at the different Piaget events in Paris!
I like this picture because it shows you the wide range of movements available at Piaget even with only simple watches: a large automatic one with micro-rotor and a small handwind one:
The skeletonized movement of the Atliplano Handwing Skeleton:
This is a speciality from Piaget, its capacity to set gems on very delicate movements... when watchmaking meet jewellery...
Let's have a quick look on the exhibition.
This 1973 Altiplano is powered by the 9P. Look at the superb tiger eye & onyx dial.
The 1208P movement was introduced with this 43mm Altiplano:
This is the hard ruby dial of a 34mm Altiplano powered by the 430P:
The iconic 12P movement which was the thinnest automatic movement when it was launched in 1960:
It powers this 1961 Altiplano:
I don't need to introduce this one... it is the latest Automatic Altiplano powered by the 1205P. This Altiplano is the first one with an additional complication.
A 34mm Altiplano with a set bezel powered by the 430P:
The famous 9P movement which was the thinnest handwind movement when it was introduced in 1957:
This watch houses the 9P and was unveiled in 1961:
As I said previously, I will come back to take better pictures. If you are in Paris these days, don't miss this opportunity to browse a famous page of the watchmaking history. The exhibition will stop the 12th of October.
Thanks to Piaget France for the invitation.
Fr.Xavier
