Piaget is blessed to be as well regarded for its jewellery as it is for its watches. Having started as a maker of movements, Piaget is arguably better known to the world at large today for its skill in jewellery. While this sometimes annoys the watchmaking side of the business, the situation is really quite advantageous for writers to wax lyrical. Magazines like this one are quite fond of calling Piaget the jeweller of watchmakers, for example, which is a reference to something Piaget CEO Philippe Leopold-Metzger once said about the contemporary brand.

Whatever the case may be, this idea comes to the fore every time Piaget introduces a gem-set skeleton watch or a fully set wristwatch, which brings us to the Piaget Emperador Coussin Tourbillon Diamond-Set Automatic Skeleton. This watch is the latest to demonstrate Piaget’s mastery of setting gems onto ultra-thin mechanical movements. Piaget is the only watchmaking firm able to set gems onto the functional parts of ultra-thin movements, the first of which was calibre 600D in 2005.

So how does Piaget push boundaries when it is the only player on the field? In this particular case, the manufacture has opted to try not one but two never-before-attempted technical leaps. First of all, Piaget’s gem-setters have used baguette-cut diamonds, something we were surprised to learn is quite unheard of. Secondly, these same gem-setters decided to set the sides of the functional parts of calibre 1270D and the platinum micro-rotor.

All told, there are 71 baguette-cut diamonds in rail setting, accompanied by 561 brilliant-cut diamonds in grain and pushed-grain setting. This is just for calibre 1270D. The case is set with 794 baguette-, brilliant- and emerald-cut diamonds, right down to the lugs and the flanks; 24 brilliant-cut diamonds decorate the clasp.

In this watch, there is no way to separate watchmaking from jewellery, or technical prowess from artistic audacity. No manufacture without Piaget’s very specific skills could create even an approximation of this watch. Collectors who appreciate the skill and art of gem-setting will certainly see the value of the Emperador Coussin Tourbillon Diamond-Set Skeleton. Cased in 18K white gold, the 49mm watch is issued in a numbered edition (S$1,440,000).