PIAGET – ALTIPLANO Ultimate CONCEPT AUC Skeleton - Unique Piece 2022 A ONE-OF-A-KIND TRIBUTE TO
THE ALTIPLANO ULTIMATE CONCEPT
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Piaget unveils a unique Altiplano Ultimate Concept
(AUC), a beacon of technology and design which pays tribute to the first “beats”
of this ground-breaking timepiece. This one-of-a-kind watch follows last years’
release of the AUC with a green dial in reference to La Côte-aux-Fées, where it
all started.
The Concept
The Altiplano Ultimate Concept (AUC) started as an
idea, a vision, a dream. Not everyone believed it was possible, but the
philosophy at Piaget has always been to always push the limits, to always
challenge what exists, and as Valentin Piaget always like to say, “to do what
has never been done before.”
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Piaget’s engineers, watchmakers, and designers
continued to search for solutions to make the dream come true and after four
years of research and development, on
February 7th, 2017 at 7:47 pm,
the
AUC took its first “beat”.
The Journey So Far
The creation of ultra-thin timepieces has been part of
Piaget’s know-how since the very beginning. The Maison’s founder, George
Edouard Piaget, was supplying famous watch brands with ultra-thin watch
components as early as 1874, an expertise that brought him respect and
recognition in the watchmaking community in the Jura Mountains – the birth of
Swiss watchmaking – and far beyond.
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In
1957, the Maison introduced the world’s thinnest
mechanical movement, the Calibre
9P that measured a mere 2mm in height. The
9P
was the start of a series of record breaking ultra-thin movements, including
the
12P in
1960, the
1200P and the
1208P in
2010, and the ground-breaking
900P
in
2014.
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Obtaining world records, has never been the driving force at
Piaget,
it has always been about the quest for uttermost elegance.
The
AUC Story
The
AUC was first presented in Geneva at the Watches & Wonders fair in 2018 to
huge acclaim from the watch community and the world’s press. Only two years
later, Piaget made it reliable for everyday wear.
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In April
2020 the first
timepiece left the
Piaget workshops for the big wide world, and in November of
the same year, the timepiece won the prestigious
Aiguille d’Or prize
from the
Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. Since then, collectors all
over the world have been enjoying this feat of micro-mechanical engineering
that remains one of the world’s thinnest timepieces today.
A Feat of
Technology
Most
timepieces are made up of four layers: 1) the bezel and crystal, 2) the dial
and hands, 3) the movement, and 4) the case back.
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Piaget removed this
four-layer construction to create a fusion of components with the bridges,
dial, and hands, on one side, and the case back, movement, main plate
and bezel on the other, all coming together as one.
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This fusion of watchmaking
construction features five patents that have enabled the Maison to create a
timepiece that is a mere
2mm in height, from the underside of the caseback to
the top of the sapphire crystal.
An Horological Adventure
The new AUC unique piece is a celebration of the AUC
adventure with several stylistic details that recall this incredible journey.
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Starting at the top of the dial, the
Piaget logo is in a historic font that is
the same typeface used in the logo above the manufacture in
La Côte-aux-Fées,
the village where
Piaget was born and remains today.
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Two enlarged circles sit
among the dots of the minute ring, marking the time –
7:47 – when the
AUC first
came to life. At
2:30, the birthday of the
AUC –
7th February
2017,
is inscribed in a small window.
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And a
“La Côte-aux-Fées” inscription has also
been engraved onto the ratchet wheel along with the manufacture’s GPS
coordinates. Completing the tribute, the background of the dial features stars illuminated
with Super-LumiNova that replicate the sky above La
Côte-aux-Fées at the exact
date and time of the
AUC’s birth.
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The
Piaget AUC Unique Piece comes in a
41mm case made
of a cobalt-based high-tech alloy. This bold choice of material is in perfect
harmony with the dark slate blue PVD base plate that has been sandblasted.
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The case back, bezel and lugs have all been satin brushed making a nice contrast to
the case band that is polished. The timepiece is paired with an extremely thin dark
blue alligator strap that does not exceed
1.5mm, in keeping with the watch’s
ultra-thin design.
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The timepiece comes with a power reserve of
40 hours and is a
spectacular fusion of horological elements.
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This
one-of-a-kind timepiece, with its design that honours La Côte-aux-Fées and the
very first beat of the AUC, attests to the Maison’s legitimacy and
inventiveness in pushing the limits of creativity and refinement where design
and technology become one.
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#PIAGET #PIAGETALTIPLANO
#PIAGETWATCHESANDWONDERS
#PIAGETWAW #PIAGETWATCHES
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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Collection: ALTIPLANO
Model: ALTIPLANO Ultimate CONCEPT (AUC)
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Ref. GOA47505
Movement
Type: Self-winding mechanical ultra-thin skeleron manufacture movement
Calibre 900P-UC skeletonised version movement, in-house
- hand-wound - 45h
power reserve
– 28,800 vibrations/h
- 13 jewels - hours and minutes -
black PVD coating
-167 parts (whole watch)
– Super-LumiNova on the main
plate representing the sky above the manufacture at the date and time
when the first AUC started beating
Functions: Hours, Minutes offset at 12 o'clock
Delivered with an Alligator leather strap and a blue baltimora textile strap, 1.5mm thin with ultra-thin cobalt alloy pin buckle
SuperLuminova constellation on the mainplate representing the sky above the Manufacture at the date and time when the first AUC started beating for the first time
Piaget historical logo on the hour disc, with 2 circles at 7 and 47 and the date “0/fevrier 2017” engraved on a small plat at 2:30, marking the birth of the first AUC.
“La Cote-aux-Fees” and the Manufacture's coordinate engraved onto the ratchet wheel.
Finishing: dark slate blue PVD-treated and satin-brushed bezel and caseback.
Case
Case and movement merged as one
Polished cobalt-based alloy
Dark slate blue PVD finish -
0.2mm thick crystal
Flat crown recessed into the case band
Crystal: Sapphire with double-sided antireflective coating
Back: Screwed with sapphire crystal
Diameter: 41 mm
Thickness: 2 mm
Waterproofness: 30 ATM
Dial
Sskeletonised – Super-LumiNova on the main
plate representing the sky above the manufacture at the date and time
when the first AUC started beating
Bracelet
Strap:
delivered with an alligator leather strap and a Baltimore textile strap on pin buckle
Buckle: Folding clasp
Availability: Unique piece
PRICE: Price upon request - in excess of CHF 400,000
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Press release - 2022
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ContactBucherer AGMartina BrönnimannAmeia Communication GmbH
Alte Dorfstrasse
428704 Herrliberg
Tel.: +
41 44
915 05 43Mobile: +
41 78
601 47 47E-mail: mbroennimann@ameia.ch
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www.Piaget.com