“Always do better than necessary” a motto of the Piaget family since the beginning of its time, the search of ultra-thinness from Georges-Edouard Piaget and the generations that followed has been cemented in their heritage amongst the village of Côte-aux-Fées since 1874. Advertised in catalogs with headlines “Spécialistes des mounters les plus plates du mode”, Piaget brought its first caliber 9P to the market for the first time in 1957, presented as Altiplano at the Basel watch fair, it quickly claimed its name for being one off the thinnest hand-wound movement during the time. Measuring only 2mm thick, it refined the profile of luxury watches with ultra-thin comfort. With the calibre 12P released followed three years later, the creation instantly captured a record for being the thinnest self-winding movement ever made. Conceived to offer a backdrop of purity and absolute refinement, the Altiplano ultra-thin watch takes its name from the eponymous plateau nestled in the heart of the Cordillera Andes. Spanning four South American countries, the Altiplano is an immense plain with an average altitude of 3,650m. As flat as the endless horizon that adorns it. As pure as the aesthetics of the collection that turns extreme refinement into absolute elegance and purity. 

Celebrating the Altiplano collection, Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo together with Piaget is proud to present a refreshing limited edition collaboration, the Altiplano Origin China Special Edition prototype.

Inspired by the origin of Altiplano meaning Plateau in Spanish, we draw muses from the nature’s palette amongst the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Known as the “Roof of the World”—the world’s highest plateau—a stunning scenery blessed with towering mountains, greens from the grass fields and the radiant rays of each dawn and golden tints of sunset. Capturing the spirit of the serenity of nature, the timepiece features a rich green three-layered lacquered dial with a minimalistic appeal. A set of pink gold hands and hour-makers reminiscent of the golden-brown drawn from nature, while the white gold case evokes the serenity of year-round snow-covered mountain ridges. Paying homage to the starry night sky of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the exquisite star in the seconds register as the brightest North Star guiding ways forward.

Powering the timepiece is the ultra-thin self-winding caliber 1205P with a power reserve of 44 hours that can be admired through the sapphire caseback. One of the world's thinnest self-winding winding movements with date, it measures just 3 mm. All Piaget's ultra-thin watchmaking expertise is brought into play, the movement's components are slimmed down and the spaces between them reduced to the minimum. The components have been shaped to make the movement as thin as possible, some wheels being as little as 0.12 mm in thickness. The oscillating weight, in 22-carat rose gold, has been miniaturized and mounted off-centre so as to be fully integrated in the thickness of the movement. This distinctive mode of construction required extremely complex calculations to determine the weight distribution that would ensure optimum winding. The bridges are bevelled and decorated with the circular Côtes de Genève, the mainplate is circular-grained and the screws blued. The 1205P movement also features sunburst wheels and a special regulator bearing the Piaget "P" signature.

Highly attractive with a refreshing palette, the timepiece is also paired with a green crocodile strap that is no doubt a perfect match. With a tremendous success of the limited edition collection, Phillips is honoured to present this numbered 00 prototype to the collector of discerning taste.