Piaget may as well have pioneered the concept of ‘stealth wealth’ in the watch world. Its watches are unostentatious and have real horological sophistication. In 1957, the brand introduced the Altiplano, at the time the thinnest watch in the world. It was tasteful and refined, and immediately became a firm favourite for many in the dress watch category.
As such, Piaget has declared 2017 the year of the Altiplano and unveiled a limited-edition collection. Historically, Piaget has been obsessed with cramming technical innovations into the slimmest of watches, and in doing so, it created a whole new type of wristwatch.
The Altiplano was named after the high-altitude plateau of the Andes cordillera. The discrete facing and subtle blue hues reflect the region’s natural beauty and restrained architecture. This creates a watch line that is both dressy yet casual, so much so that French actor Alain Delon dubbed it “the watch of the international elite”.
Six decades on, two models have been produced especially for the anniversary. One hand-wound 38mm and the other self-winding 43mm. Inspired by the history of the iconic line, each has a white-gold case and features a plain, polished bezel. Both have painted dials in Piaget’s traditional blue.