It might seem an unlikely comparison as the age difference between the Piaget Altiplano and the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin in this article spans more than four decades, yet as Martin Green explains these two ultra thins have a lot more in common than you might think.
At a local used watch dealer, Martin Green came across the Piaget Upstream and a lightning bolt struck! He had found the upscale, stainless steel sports watch he had been looking for. So what’s its story?
Alexander Doerr hadn’t really paid much attention to opals before, but upon closer inspection realized that this gemstone is extraordinary – they are shrouded in mystery and well worth learning more about. Looking at an opal is like looking at fireworks or even looking into a galaxy. And two Swiss watch brands specialize in using the fiery gemstone in watches are Jaquet Droz and Piaget.
In 1995, Piaget was part of the Vendôme group that would later become Richemont. Piaget entered the highest end of the watch market by releasing a grande sonnerie wristwatch, which was developed by François-Paul Journe. At the time, Journe was a freelance movement designer and hadn’t officially founded F.P. Journe yet.
There is a certain sense of irony in it: while trying on a new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore I realized during the 2018 SIHH that current trends seem to favor smaller watches. It seems that the watch world has finally returned to its senses with smaller sizes. And that is a good thing!
Dandies and Piaget have always enjoyed a natural alliance. There are several reasons for this: first and foremost, there is the brand’s decision to make only watches using precious metals; secondly, there is the decision to fit them with manufacture movements that are as small and thin as possible – something that allows nearly unprecedented freedom for the brand’s designers. Let’s have a look at some dandy Piaget models!
From a technical point of view, skeletonizing makes no sense: watchmakers go to great length to create a stable and robust movement, only to have others saw away pieces of its components. Skeletonizing is one of those instances when form takes over from function, bringing it even closer to being art.
Artistic Crafts is a Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève category for beauty; it’s as simple as that. Mastery of techniques is the only requirement, and the results are always stunning. It is also a great place to see some unique applications of skills rarely seen, allowing us to view just what artists can imagine when given such a small canvas.
There is always something special about kicking off a new series of articles. It is like unwrapping a new notebook, sitting down with your favorite pen in hand, and beginning a new adventure. This particular adventure will take us to a very special part of the watch world: the so-called dandy watch, a word we will define right here.
