SIHH 2014 : the furthest reaches of the world and of horological possibility

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SIHH 2014 : the furthest reaches of the world and of horological possibility - Piaget
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Piaget’s specialities are jewellery watches and record-beating ultra-thin watches. One will not have to reckon with artistic craft watches, a field in which Piaget is making an extremely impressive stage entrance.

Piaget is staging a mini-revolution with its new releases in 2014, as the brand joins the highly exclusive circle of major artistic craft watch producers. Up until now, its activity in this precious domain consisted of cleverly gem-set limited series, along with occasional and highly discreet enamelled interpretations, often crafted by special order. With the Mythical Journey collection, Piaget is doing things on a whole new scale: that of a continent. These creations travel through the scenery and the bestiary of Asia in the broadest sense of the term – encompassing India, Japan and China. The ‘means of transport’ adopted vary from one to another of the over 20 references within this monumental collection, ranging from cloisonné or plique-à-jour enamel to engraving with a burin, along with embroidery and miniature sculpture. A profusion of originality and delicacy is set to invade the Piaget boutiques, as horses, elephants, cranes, pagodas and temples appear against the backdrop of ultra-thin or tourbillon watches, including diamond-set variations.

 

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Returning to a field with which it is historically more closely associated, Piaget is reaffirming its leadership in ultra-thin manual watches. Having temporarily relinquished its top-ranked position, it is setting the record straight with the Altiplano 900P. In this range that has for years been the stronghold of its ultra-thin models, Piaget introduces the slimmest watch currently on the market, at just 3.65 mm thin in all. To achieve this result, Piaget has gone beyond the traditional distinction between exterior and movement, between the case and the ‘motor’. The back of the 900P is in contact with the skin on one side, while the interior is machined to serve as the movement baseplate – thus enabling Piaget to save the previous tenths of a millimetre that make all the difference. Who will wish to even further? Is it indeed feasible without compromising the movement’s reliability and integrity?

Despite these adventures taking it to the furthermost reaches of continents and technological development, Piaget remains loyal to its garden. The rose remains an inextinguishable source of inspiration for the brand, and is more vibrantly alive than ever in 2014. The Blooming Rose is a diamond-set watch featuring a bezel composed of articulated petals. The latter are connected and capable of opening or closing on demand, thus delightfully symbolising morning and evening in the day of an exquisitely dainty flower.
 

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