In a couple of years the French luxury Maison Piaget will be celebrating its 150th anniversary and a long, storied heritage of artisanal craftsmanship. After decades of watchmaking innovation, by the 1950s Piaget had established a brand trademark with its ultra-thin movements that became the signature of the Maison, and in 1998 Piaget launched the Altiplano model as the ultimate timepiece in ultra-thin watch elegance.
Now Piaget is opening a new chapter in its history by blending art with craft and introducing a brand new moon phase complication to the Altiplano collection. The new line includes four piece themed around the four seasons and the four elements.
The Altiplano Moonphase is a technically impressive feat that fits in a 36-mm wide case, with dials that took two years to develop featuring constellations represented in precious stones on a translucent enamel sky created by master enameller Anita Porchet.
Everything had to be shrunk down to size to fit the Altiplano’s ultra-thin aesthetics, and enamelling and gold engraving called for the ultimate level of watchmaking expertise in order to achieve Piaget’s goals.
The Piaget Altiplano Moonphase also features moon rays of graduated diamonds, sapphires and garnets, with delightful details to surprise such as a elemental ‘Guardian’ appearing at night fall - the Azure Dragon is associated with Spring and wood; the red bird represents Summer and fire; the white tiger represents Autumn and metal; and the black turtle is the Guardian of Winter and water.
