Piaget Altiplano

The Piaget Altiplano is one of the world's flattest watches. In fact, the Altiplano Ultimate Concept prototype from 2018 holds the record for the flattest manual watch at just 2 mm thick. The Swiss manufacturer's automatic timepieces are only a few millimeters taller, making them ideal dress watches.

Piaget's Altiplano collection contains everything from minimalist three-hand wristwatches and automatic timepieces with a date to intricately skeletonized, diamond-studded treasures. Highlights include the limited edition tourbillon watches. Certain models are even set with hundreds of diamonds. The caliber 670P powers these remarkable timepieces. This manual movement is composed of 157 components and stands 4.6 mm tall.

Piaget named this collection after the eponymous plateau in Peru and Bolivia, where the Andean mountain range is at its widest. The first Altiplano watches appeared in 1957, equipped with the manual caliber 9P. At 2 mm, this movement was the flattest of its time. The company drew more attention only three years later by releasing the caliber 12P. Thanks to its micro-rotor, this movement is only 2.3 mm thick. The 12P would spend decades as the world's flattest automatic movement.

Two and three-hand Piaget Altiplano watches are especially simple and timeless. White gold models are equal parts understated and elegant. Thanks to their flat cases and streamlined looks, they are the perfect companions for the office and special occasions. For example, the 38-mm ref. G0A29112 has a white dial, narrow indices, and two delicate hands. The manual caliber 430P ticks away inside this white gold luxury watch. The movement is 2.1 mm high and comes with a 43-hour power reserve. The final watch is only 6 mm thick. This Piaget Altiplano has an official list price of 16,200 USD. You can purchase the same timepiece on Chrono24 for around 14,500 USD. Its sister model, the G0A31114 in rose gold, costs about 1,100 USD less.

If you prefer to keep track of the seconds and date, you should take a closer look at the refs. G0A38130 (white gold) and G0A38131 (rose gold). Both versions have a small seconds at 4 o'clock and a date display at 9. Their cases are 40 mm in diameter and 6.36 mm thick. The automatic in-house caliber 1205P powers these timepieces. This movement is only 3 mm tall and features a 22-karat rose gold micro-rotor. The white gold edition requires an investment of about 22,000 USD in mint condition, while the rose gold version demands roughly 20,000 USD.

At only 4.3 mm thick, the Altiplano Ultimate Automatic ref. G0A43121 is among the world's flattest automatic watches. Since the movement is fused to the external case, it's hard to determine an exact height for the movement alone. From the front, you have a clear view of the balance, gears, and bridges. The dial is integrated into the top left corner of the movement, resulting in a truly unique timepiece. Prices for never-worn models come in at around 24,500 USD.

The only watch flatter than the Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Automatic is the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Automatic. Bvlgari released this timepiece only two months after the debut of the Altiplano Ultimate Automatic. The final watch is an astonishing 3.95 mm thick, making it both the flattest automatic watch and the flattest tourbillon watch in the world. Limited to a run of 50 pieces, this special timepiece had an official list price of 118,000 USD at its introduction.

The Piaget Altiplano collection contains numerous skeletonized watches. This means that sections of the movement have been cut away so you can see straight through the watch. Some versions are even studded with hundreds of diamonds. One example is the ref. G0A39125 in 18-karat rose gold. This 38-mm watch has 78 diamonds on its case, another 23 on its clasp, and an additional 259 diamonds and 11 ruby cabochons on its movement. The movement, the automatic in-house caliber 1200D, is made of rose-gold-plated platinum. All told, this watch measures in at 6 mm thick.

Its movement is composed of 191 components and is 3 mm thick. The balance ticks at a frequency of 21,600 alternations per hour (A/h), or the equivalent of 3 Hz. Fully wound, the movement has a power reserve of around 44 hours. Thanks to sapphire glass on the front and back, you can view the movement at work from above and below. If you'd like to call this beautiful gold watch your own, be sure to have some 111,000 USD on hand.

You can save quite a bit by purchasing a skeletonized Altiplano without diamonds. The white gold ref. G0A37132 measures 38 mm across and 5.34 in height. It contains the world's flattest skeletonized movement: the 2.4-mm-thick 1200S. Its micro-rotor is made of blackened platinum. The satin-brushed bridges are finished and chamfered by hand, lending each timepiece a rather minimalist appearance. A set of black dauphine hands and a black alligator leather strap match perfectly with the watch's matte design. The ref. G0A37132 costs around 50,000 USD. The rose gold edition with the reference number G0A38132 sits in a similar price range. Its movement is covered in an anthracite-colored coating. Both the hands and platinum rotor are plated in rose gold.

The Piaget Altiplano Tourbillon is this collection's true watchmaking highlight. A cutout in the dial at 2:30 offers a view of the tourbillon below. The off-center time display for the hours and minutes is located at 8 o'clock. This all sits within a 41-mm case that's only 7.4 mm thick and made of 18-karat white or rose gold. Both the rose gold ref. G0A43030 and white gold G0A43031 are limited to runs of 8 pieces each. What's more, the white gold edition is set with 48 baguette-cut and 290 brilliant-cut diamonds, including 24 on the clasp. Its dial's shimmering blue lapis lazuli inlay comes from master stone sculptor Hervé Obligi . Obligi also made the green malachite inlay for the rose gold edition.

The in-house caliber 670P powers this tourbillon watch. It's 30.6 mm in diameter and only 4.6 mm thick. Each component is finished by hand. Finally, it has a 48-hour power reserve and a balance frequency of 21,600 A/h.

The rose gold Piaget Altiplano Tourbillon ref. G0A4303 has a list price of around 114,000 USD. Due to its many diamonds, the white gold ref. G0A43041 is much more expensive. This is also true for the Altiplano Tourbillon Haute Joaillerie , which Piaget released in 2017 in celebration of the caliber 9P's 60th anniversary. Its diamond-studded case is 41-mm in diameter and houses a stunning guilloché dial. This anniversary edition is limited to a run of 38 pieces and has a list price of about 231,000 USD.