Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Two Faces of the Piaget Altiplano Skeleton High Jewellery Métiers d’Art
A high jewellery extravaganza marrying an ultra-thin skeletonised gem-set movement and case with cloisonné enamel artwork by Anita Porchet.
Piaget is renowned for its ultra-thin movements and high jewellery watches, areas of expertise the brand started to cultivate in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The Altiplano, Piaget’s exquisitely thin dress watch, has proven highly versatile, and its thinness has never been an impediment to dressing up or down this model. The latest eight-piece limited edition Altiplano is a three-way showcase, a compendium of Piaget’s consolidated skills in ultra-thin skeletonised movements and gem-setting with novel cloisonné enamel flourishes.
Playing with two distinctive aesthetic approaches, the Altiplano is divided in two. Although it’s not a clean-cut horizontal division, the closed crescent-shaped area between 1 and 9 o’clock on the dial and the bezel is decorated with Grand Feu cloisonné enamel. The remaining space reveals the skeletonised gem-set movement and bezel picked out with gradient sapphires and diamonds. The gradient effect is beautifully achieved on the bezel with darker baguette-cut sapphires at the extremes, fading to watery-coloured sapphires and culminating in bright white diamonds. The 40mm white gold case has straight diamond-set lugs, a blue sapphire set in the crown and a slender profile of 7mm. As the brand points out, this is just slightly thicker than the classic (non-gem-set) skeleton version.
Powered by Piaget’s ultra-thin automatic white gold calibre 1201D (an optimised version of 1200D), this mechanical marvel has a thickness of just 3mm, and the sweeping bridges of its mainplate are set with diamonds and blue sapphires. These have been selected in different shades to match the gradient baguette-cut stones adorning the bezel. Another detail to consider is that although a large swathe of the dial is covered in enamel, the movement is fully set, meaning that if you were to lift off the cover, you’d see the diamond-set bridges of the mainplate below.
The closed area of the dial has been crafted by Anita Porchet, one of the world’s most respected enamel artists. The dial comes to life with the art of cloisonné enamel in a blue, green and purple palette. Using flat gold strips soldered to the base to create the outline of the image, the enameller then fills the miniature cells with vitreous enamel colours that are fired dozens of times in the kiln at extremely high temperatures and polished to achieve a smooth, uniform texture. In keeping with the predominantly blue colour theme, the hour and minute hands are a dark shade of blue.
The white gold bezel of the caseback is set with brilliant-cut diamonds, and certain areas of the skeletonised movement reveal the reverse side of Anita Porchet’s blue enamel artwork. The skeletonised calibre has a frequency of 3Hz / 21,600vph and delivers a power reserve of 44 hours. The Altiplano Skeleton High Jewellery Métiers d’Art is a limited edition of 8 watches and retails for EUR 303,000.
More information at Piaget.com.
