DUBAI: Swiss luxury watchmaker Piaget launched its “Altiplano Ultimate Concept” watch this year, described as the “thinnest mechanical watch in the world.”
“In 1957, Piaget launched its first thinnest caliber, 9P, which was 2mm. Now, the whole watch fits into a case of this size,” Piaget CEO Chabi Nouri said.
The watch took six years to develop — a rather long period, which can witness many changes in people’s tastes and preferences. Nouri said, however, that the brand’s creations are mostly timeless, and the same holds true for their new collection.
“The time it takes to create a watch truly depends on how complex it is,” she told Arab News. “In this case, it took much longer as we were doing something that had not been done before.”
The Swiss-born entrepreneur went on to explain that the development of the watch took four years, but that two more years were necessary to make it reliable.
To reach this new record, the brand had to rethink the construction of the watch.
“With components no thicker than a hair, we had to find a very strong material to manufacture this watch,” the businesswoman said.
The luxury label opted for a new, cobalt-based alloy that is highly resistant and that is 2.3 times stronger than gold.
“Other parts were entirely re-sized,” Nouri said.
There is no doubt that tastes change over time, but in the watch market, Nouri believes customers now value craftsmanship and authenticity more than ever.
With electronic watches now coming into play, Nouri thinks that people will still be interested in watchmaking even 30 years from now.
“A watch is much more than an accessory,” she said. “It embodies so much heritage, tradition and history. It is also very much linked to emotions, and I believe emotions are here to stay.”
