Marc Obermann's deep dive into ultra-thin movements challenges common misconceptions and provides a meticulously researched historical overview. His work highlights the often-overlooked origins of these horological marvels, tracing their evolution from 18th-century pocket watches to modern wristwatches. This article serves as an essential resource for collectors seeking to understand the true lineage and technical advancements behind some of watchmaking's most delicate creations.
A Forward to the post.
Hi all I have struggled with deciding if I should make this post or not due to some of the content which may be viewed as contentious but feel that there are certain things that people should be made aware of in regard to Ultra Thin Movements and their history. I have seen posts both here on the site and on other watch sites in the form of editorials that have made false claims and in doing so IMO mislead their readers, sorry but I am not OK with that. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and to express it and I would defend their right to do so to my last breath, however no one is entitled to their own facts and I will always challenge that. The reason for this forward is to allow me to explain and assure everyone of my intentions in this post are not to disparage or insult anyone at least not on this site. I also need to make clear I am not an expert nor even extremely knowledgeable on this subject I am just a passionate enthusiast and just that. I am going to be giving more of an overview as opposed to going into great detail about the Pocket watches and will post links to where the information I have posted is from should anyone want to dive deeper into it and I will credit pictures and articles to. Lastly I hope some will find this information helpful and interesting.
The beginning and where it all started from.
I know it's easy to think of ultra thin movements as quite a new and modern phenomenon but ultra thin movements pre date the wristwatch and came about in the late 18th Century early 19th Century as gentleman's fashion changed and became more refined they sought pocket watches that would not disturb the lay of their clothing. One of the leading proponents of this was Frenchman Jean-Antoine Lepine as he dramatically changed the way watches were constructed and allowed for a truly flat watch to be made. His work was so successful that his Lepine Calibre is still the basis for most movements even today. One of the most influential and prominent movement makers of the 20th Century was Jaeger-LeCoultre who made many ultra thin movements. This move to ultra thin movements allowed the artisans of the time to show their skill and creativity in new ways and resulted in a new genre of pocket watches named " The Knife pocket watch". I have not gone into great detail about the movements as otherwise this post would end up rivaling war and peace, but I will post links at the end of the post should anyone want to look for more information on the movements.
Here are a few examples of these beautiful creations.
Credit to the 1916 Company
Credit to the 1916 Company
If you haven't already read Amanico's post "The Genealogical Tree of Ultra Thin Movements" on this site I highly recommend it for some great information.
I also recommend patrick_y' post "How thin is too thin? Extra thin (Ultra Thin) Movements explained.
Ultra Thin Wrist watches Movements
One of the most relevant and important ultra thin wrist watch movements comes from the famous movement manufacturer Frederic Piguet it was developed by his son Henri-Louis Piguet over 15 years as a passion project to create an ultra thin movement and was released in 1925. Its specifications are 20.4mm x1.74mm, a power reserve of 42 hours running at 18,00vph and having 17 or 18 jewels it is still being used now 100 years later. It is said by some that it was co-developed with Blancpain but I have been unable to verify this, the Frederic Piguet Calibre 21 was the thinnest movement for 20 years however after its patent expired it was also made by a lot of other manufacturers and also used as a Frederic Piguet movement by the likes of Cartier and even Breguet although in the case of Breguet it was modified and finished by them in their Breguet Classique 3500 Ultra Thin with Breguet Calibre 503 movement using a Frederic Piguet base Calibre 21 .
Here are some if not all the manufacturers that have used this base calibre.
Piguet Cal 21, Blancpain Cal 21, IWC Cal 171, Rolex Cal 650, Patek Cal 175 & 177, Longines Cal 310, Cartier Cal21, Certina Cal 20-10, Omega cal 700, Zenith Cal 53.5, BuecheGirod, Bucherer.
In 1950 it was also made by L.U. Chopard & Cie and here is a picture of it.
I had not realised prior to looking into this subject that patents in France and Switzerland are only valid for 20 years and that was a surprise, no surprise then that some 21 years after the Frederic Piguet Calibre 21 was released there was an evolution of this movement with improvements. Enter the Audemars Piguet 2003, Vacheron Constantin 1003 and the Jaeger-LeCoultre 803 these movements all share more similarities than differences to the Frederic Piguet Calibre 21 yet managed to shave another tenth of a millimetre off its thickness at just 1.64mm.
Here are some comparison pictures.
Calibre 21
Audemars Piguet 2003
Now this is the part of the post that may appear to be contentious there is one more movement that is based on the Frederic Piguet Calibre 21 but did not appear until 1957 although it is heavily modified unlike the AP,VC and JLC movements this one actually got thicker not thinner. It is the famous Piaget Cal 9P and the problem I have with this movement is that I have repeatedly seen it claimed to be the thinnest manual wind movement ever made. Well the above information proves this is just not the case as there are 4 movements that are thinner than it right here and made before it.
My post covers the origin story and some history of Ultra thin movements but does not cover it all or the more modern movements that we now have but for that I would recommend searching the site as there really is lots of great information available. I feel this post is more than long enough and I apologise for some reason I can't copy and paste links most probably something I am doing wrong. But if anyone wants a specific link or has any questions just ask and I will do my best to answer or provide the link via PM.
I am also considering doing a post on Ultra thin watches and what are they as the definition spread by manufacturers is baffling to me please let me know if you would like to read this.
Marc
