At the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) 2016, Piaget once more crowns itself king of thin chic, this time with the Altiplano 38mm 900D. This is a haute joaillerie (that’s high jewelry folks) piece so maybe the royal title this year is queen but we digress… Actually there is a lot to get through here for such a small wonder.

To begin with, at 5.60mm thick the new Altiplano is certainly the thinnest in its dazzling class – we are not even sure who previously held this record. Secondly, you might recognize the 900D as an evolution of the 900P, the 2014 model that is still today the slimmest in its class at a barely there 3.65mm. Of course, the extra thickness of the 900D is all diamonds and you can see it here on virtually every available surface of the watch. For those who might be wondering about the case thickness versus the movement thickness, the construction of this watch is such that this question is meaningless.

Remember that the 900P is a watch where the movement and case are actually one and so it is in the 900D. This means the watchmakers were faced with incredible challenges to integrate the 304 diamonds, some which are set on extremely delicate working parts; the mainplate features snow-set diamonds while even the screws and gear wheels are also gemset. We go into the details of the diamonds in the specifications below, for those interested in such things.

Records and number of diamonds and such aside, it is important to note that this is a very attractive watch. In fact, in many markets it will sit as well on a man’s wrist as a woman’s. As always with these tickers from Piaget, from the 1200D to the 838D and 1270D, the thing to note is the harmonious marriage of fine watchmaking and high jewelry. The diamonds enhance the watch while at the same time making it a more remarkable timekeeping machine because of the extra technical work.

Specs

• Piaget Altiplano 38mm 900D
• Dimensions: 38mm
• Functions: Hours, minutes
• Power reserve: 48 hours
• Movement: Mechanical, manual-winding, calibre 900D
• Water resistance: 20 meters
• Material: White gold, fully set with diamonds (38 baguette-cut, 266 brilliant-cut, crown set with brilliant-cut, dial set with 33 baguette-cuts), alligator strap with white gold pin buckle set with 23 brilliant-cut diamonds