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Piaget Altiplano Scrimshaw
The Piaget Altiplano Scrimshaw, launched in 2014, features a dial made from fossilized mammoth ivory that is then engraved with a map of the Eastern Hemisphere using traditional scrimshaw techniques.
Coming from the Inuits and other tribes in the colder parts of North America, scrimshaw is a special type of engraving involving very fine engraving on ivory that varies in depth and is then inked to result in various textures and colors.
The 38 mm Altiplano case comes either in white or pink gold with an in-house 400P (or 430P) ultra-thin calibre.
Does this engraving technique appeal to you? And the timepieces?
Best, Emmanuel
A finished scrimshaw dial next to the raw mammoth ivory blank
First step: engraving latitude and longitude
Engraving the compass rose
Inking the compass rose
Removing excess ink
Finished dial
Richard Maier's work bench
Richard Maier
The watch
credit: Hodinkee, Piaget and Horologium
Ref. G0A39151 (rose gold)
credit: Hodinkee (1) & Bonhams
Piaget Altiplano Scrimshaw
The Piaget Altiplano Scrimshaw , launched in 2014, features a dial made from fossilized mammoth ivory that is then engraved with a map of the Eastern Hemisphere using traditional scrimshaw techniques. Coming from the Inuits and other tribes in the colder ...
This falls into category of rare materials AND rare/historical handicraft!
Impressive how they maintain the various degrees of shading using this development method. Thanks for another amazing post.
Yes, rare material and craftsmanship, and both quite appealing!
Thank you for the kind words. Best, Emmanuel
Both the technique and the timepieces massively appeal 👌🏻🙌🏻
Not sure I would have chosen these hands but both watches are beauties 😊👍🏻
Because of the black ink, I think white gold case and hands work best here.
And in white gold, the needle hands almost disappear and let you admire the dial. What kind of hand would you have chosen?
Agreed 😊👍🏻
Dauphine hands like in the others posted today might be a tad more harmonious 😊🤷🏻♂️
Very much appeal to me! The dial is exquisite and also very unique.
I would love to see one in person, as these are more fine examples of Piaget's beautiful works of wearable art.
I would also like to see one in real life,
as I imagine these engraved ivory dials have a very unique look. Unfortunately, chances are probably quite low. Best, Emmanuel
That really is a stunning looking Piaget Altiplano Scrimshaw.
I had never seen either of these before they really are quite amazing, my choice would be the white gold as I find the contrast and look more appealing but both are amazing. Marc
I also think that this dial made of black inked ivory
works best with a white gold case. Thanks for looking and commenting, Marc. Best, Emmanuel
I’m glad you like them, Larry.
Beautiful and quite unique pieces indeed. Best, Emmanuel
I like these a lot and didn't know them till now.
The scrimshaw dial looks better to my eye than the enamel version found nearby. I also think the watch is better without a moonphase. Thanks for posting. M4
I fully agree with you.
And I would add that this black inked ivory dial seems to work best with a white gold case. I’m glad you like this model. Best, Emmanuel
I love the technique, but not so keen on the actual map (I've never been too keen on partial world map on a watch, except to celebrate a give journey)
A see-through caseback would have been nice too. Thanks for sharing, I didn't know this technique applied to watches. Best, E.
I understand you reservations, of course.
What about the Mercator? Do you like the maps on such a reference? Here, I personally find the map pretty well done and I’m not sure if the movement is good looking enough to deserve to be shown. Anyway, at least these watches bring something slightly dif...
This dial blows me away.
So special-so different from many other art dials. And it looks like it was “reasonably” priced at the time of its release. Very glad you found this one and posted it. And the back story. Thanks Emmanuel.