The Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Automatic 910P Watch Review

The Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Automatic 910P Watch Review

The Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Automatic 910P Watch Review

The Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Automatic 910P Watch Review

PIAGET AND The Idea Of ULTRA-THIN

Piaget began in 1874, within the village of los angeles C?te-aux-Fées, like a movement manufacturer. From 1913 onwards, the maker made an appearance in watch industry supplier catalogues because the specialist of ultra-thin components. The primary evolution within this pursuit of thinness was engaged by Valentin Piaget (who died lately, on April 27, 2017), grand son of Piaget’s founder, within the 1940s.

Not just producer of ultra-thin movements, the company would end up being the reference manufacture for ultra-thin watches. The pivotal part of this method was the launch from the manual-winding 9P calibre. Among the world’s thinnest movements available at that time, calculating just 2 mm thick, it had been presented in the Basel Fair in 1957. The launch from the 9P went combined with the introduction of the future icon, the Piaget Altiplano.

Right after the calibre 9P, Piaget produced a computerized movement characterised through the same pursuit of thinness, the Calibre 12P. At just 2.3mm thick, it had been in those days (but still was up to a couple of years back) the thinnest automatic movement obtainable in serial production. These record dimensions were created possible through a 24-carat gold micro-rotor integrated inside the movement in order to ensure efficient mainspring winding.

Fast-toward 2014, using the Piaget Altiplano 900P, that was the world’s thinnest mechanical watch during the time of its creation. We can’t really discuss the thickness from the movement here, because the calibre is correctly built-into the timepiece. The Altiplano 900P is, altogether, 3.65mm thick. Everything done before was over 4.00mm tall - the prior record-holder was JLC, using the Master Ultra-Thin Jubilee, at 4.05mm. Using the 900P, Piaget developed a remarkable architecture in order to save height. The classical method to develop a watch is straightforward and known: have a movement, enclose it right into a situation, usually made up of 3 primary parts, the central container in the centre, the bezel/very on the top, the situation-back at the base.

Using the 900P, Piaget produced different things. The situation-back is really machined with holes and recesses to get the primary-plate from the movement. Wheels, gears and technical parts (barrel, escapement, controlling organ) are directly installed on the situation-back, with bridges on the top to carry the moving parts in position. Then and just then, the bezel/very set up could be attached. This explains the ultimate thinness achieved by Piaget - even when in 2015, Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced the actual Ultra-Thin Squelette, having a 3.60mm situation.

Speaking automatic watches, the present record-holder is Bulgari using the Octo Finissimo Automatic, having a movement that measures only two.23mm tall - thus slightly thinner compared to calibre 12P, at 2.30mm, and compared to current calibre 1200P by Piaget, at 2.35mm - along with a situation calculating 5.15mm tall. Still, Piaget has some background and pedigree in the area of ultra-thin watches, plus they needed to react… Please welcome the Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Automatic 910P and it is situation calculating 4.30mm tall - and that’s the brand new world’s thinnest automatic watch ever, period!

THE PIAGET ALTIPLANO ULTIMATE AUTOMATIC 910P

What's the Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Automatic 910P? In a nutshell, it represents another illustration showing expertise by Piaget. What they've done here's to lessen how big the entire watch from 5.25mm within their previous thinnest automatic watch (the Altiplano Automatique with Calibre 1208P) for an astonishing 4.30mm thick within the new 910P. However, don’t think that achieving such record dimensions is a straightforward task. Actually, each and every part of the construction of the watch needs to be re-defined and contacted in different ways. Complications were experienced each and every step from the development.

The entire concept behind the development of the Altiplano Ultimate Automatic 910P is dependant on the researches done around the 900P, that was, when launched in 2014, the thinnest mechanical watch in the marketplace - having a situation that measures only 3.65mm tall. The development of the 900P was thanks to combined expertise of Piaget’s two integrated manufactures: one out of Geneva for that conception from the “habillage” (exterior areas of the timepiece), one out of La C?te-aux-Fées in which the movements are developed. People needed to get together and also to think in general, to finally achieve something quite innovative: the movement is put together directly to the situation, and isn’t the union of two separated elements any longer.

To achieve space, by removing among the usual layers, and add strength towards the situation/movement set up, the Altiplano 38mm 900P introduced a distinctive conception in which the primary-plate from the movement (the big plate where all of the moving parts are mounted) doesn’t exist any longer like a stand-alone piece. This primary-plate was merged using the situation-back, that was machined with recesses and holes in which the moving parts are mounted directly. Also, as you can tell, the movement is made round the plate that works as a dial, and never beneath it, again saving space. The brand new Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Automatic 910P takes benefits of this construction, in addition to the majority of the movement’s areas of the 900P but adds a self-winding mechanism. However, once again, they couldn’t get it done the easiest way, having a centrally mounted rotor. This could have meant a computerized bridge having a rotor on the top, something which is generally over 1mm thick.

The combination from the self-winding capacity within the 910P continues to be done using a peripheral rotor. 

The rotor isn't generating or within the movement but round the movement. By doing this, Piaget avoids the 1mm or even more required by a centrally mounted rotor. Also, a micro-rotor, thinking about the possible lack of available space within this movement, was impossible to apply here.

The oscillating weight, which may be seen within black having a “910P” engraving, is within 22K gold with black PVD coating. The option of gold is straightforward: excess fat means more inertia means a much better winding efficiency - actually, this peripheral rotor is much more efficient than the usual micro-rotor. This complete architecture enables for a highly effective winding along with a thin profile. The rotor is attached to the movement via ball-bearings (visible at 2).

All of those other movement, on the other hand, remains comparable to the 900P, with similar architecture and also the same specifications. We've the fully uncovered movement, with wheels (many are .12mm thick only), gears, escapement, barrel visible around the dial side. Even if it's record-thin, this watch remains rather traditional within the materials and technical solutions used. The escapement is really a traditional Swiss-lever, most parts are carried out in brass or steel and also the decoration is extremely enjoyable, yet classical (chamfered and polished bridges).

This type of thinness can

However, cause unpredicted issues. One of these was the potential deformation from the very that may make the hands to prevent when pressing. Because of this, the greatest reason for the timepiece isn't the axis from the hands (because it is frequently) however the bridge store the moving parts in position. When the very is distorted because of pressure, n't i longer pushes around the hands, but rather around the gear-train bridge and therefore doesn't have impact on the important from the movement.

Something caused particularly about this 910P was how a bezel is connected to the situation. Due to the peripheral rotor that rotates beneath the bezel, the second couldn’t be fixed by vertical screws passing with the watch in the situation-back. As you can tell within the profile picture above, the bezel is bound with screws within the situation-band.