Last year, Piaget release a new Rose Gold Altiplano in Rose Gold, complete with 90 Brilliant cut diamonds around the bezel, Reference G0A47124. This year for Watches and Wonders, Piaget hey have given us a slight variation on the previous reference, this time with no diamonds and at a more value driven price point.
The Piaget Altiplano is a beautiful watch – no questions, and with this, a marvel of watch engineering to create the movement to fit into the 5.3mm case. Whilst not the thinnest movement in the world, (the Richard Mille UP-01 Ferrari at 1.75mm takes this record for now) this is still impressive nonetheless. Piaget was the pioneer for thin watches, originally holding the record for the thinnest movement in the world with the in-house 12P movement launched in 1960, and as recently as 2018, the Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept G0A45502 held this at a mere 2mm thin.
The new Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Automatic builds on this philosophy of the ultra-thin watch, albeit a much more wearable 5.3mm – at this thickness, there is a little bit less fear of bending or breaking it!
The new reference, G0A48125, is essentially the same watch as released last year. It’s just lost the diamonds around the bezel, making this a little more unisex, and a little less bling. Measuring 41mm in diameter, it’s not a small watch, but the thin case and short lugs makes this a very wearable watch, one would suggest wearing slightly smaller than the 41mm suggests.
The dial is a tiny work of art, with the circular sun-burst main dial housing the rose gold hands, surrounded by the satin-brushed blue bridges and movement in full display. How Piaget puts the movement together is quite clever, fusing the movement to the external parts, using the case as the plate to which the 219 components of the mechanism are affixed. This complex structure depends on an inverted construction of the movement, with bridges mounted on the dial side, a suspended barrel held in place by a single bridge – providing a 48-hour power reserve – and off-centre hours and minutes display at 10 o’clock.
The entirety of this ultra-thin movement and hand system is held in the height of the balance, while the gold rotor coated in black PVD is placed at the periphery in the same quest to optimise use of the space. All components are decorated in the grand watchmaking tradition, with a circular satin-brushed plate, sunburst satin-finished bevelled bridges, sunburst or circular-grained wheels, and screws coated with black PVD. In the final flourish of this masterpiece of finesse, the index-assembly is stamped “P”.
All this creates the overall aesthetic of the new Piaget Altiplano Ultimate, and paired with the blue alligator strap, the rose gold case breaks the blue dial and strap combination nicely. For people wanting a dress watch, that will turn heads, then this watch is a genuine contender for you money.
Reference: G0A47125
Specification
- Case: 12mm x 5.3mm thick
- Dial: Dark blue sun-brushed dial, with satinised blue bridges and plates on display
- Crystal: Sapphire crystal
- Water resistance: 20 metres
- Movement: 910P, Manufacture Piaget, set bezel ultra-thin self-winding mechanical movement. 21’600 VpH/ 3Hz
- Power reserve: 48 Hours
- Strap: Blue alligator strap with 18K white gold ardillon buckle
