The thin and the bling: The Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept and Piaget Limelight
This year, Piaget has focused on the two strengths that most clearly define the Maison: on one hand, ultra-thin men’s watches (taken to their most technically demanding extreme) and on the other, boldly designed and extravagantly gem-set women’s watches. Altiplano Ultimate Concept Nobody could reasonably dispute that this insanely thin new watch is quite mind-blowing. But to properly understand it, a bit of context is needed. Its genesis dates back to 2014, when Piaget introduced the Altiplano 900P. At an unfeasibly skinny 3.65mm, it was the thinnest hand-wound watch ever made and it redefined our assumptions about the limits of ultra-thin watchmaking. The stroke of genius had been to reject the traditional binary notion of case plus movement, and instead to use the caseback as the baseplate. However, Piaget was already a serial record-breaker in ultra-thin watchmaking. In 1960, three years after launching the hand-wound Calibre 9P (at 2mm, it was one of the world’s slimmest movements), the 2.3mm thick Calibre 12P set a new record as the thinnest self-winding movement. Since the millennium, other records have followed: thinnest tourbillon, thinnest minute repeater, thinnest skeletonised movements – and more. Then, at SIHH 2018, Piaget introduced us to the Altiplano Ultimate…
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From Humphrey Bogart’s wide-brimmed fedora in Casablanca to Indiana Jones’ whip in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the right prop has defined many big-screen characters. Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy of Batman films contains an object deserving similar recognition. Except you don’t notice it. The reason why is that it’s so exquisitely tuned to its owner’s personality that it’s barely perceptible as a standalone item. What I’m getting at, of course, is Bruce Wayne’s Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso. After Joel Schumacher’s disastrous attempts at the superhero franchise (the director even publicly apologised for Batman & Robin), Nolan’s films were very different. Batman Begins was a grittily realistic take on the caped crusader that pointedly avoided camp flourishes. It delved into the Batman origin story and didn’t flinch from exploring the psychological angst simmering beneath. What about the watches? Well, in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne wears a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Grand Taille, while in The Dark Knight Rises he wears a JLC Reverso Grand Date. Here’s why they’re such inspired choices for the man behind the mask. A Logical Choice On the basic screen-test of horological plausibility, the Reverso ticks all the right boxes. Understated but refined, this…
In the end, watch fairs can sometimes be remembered for the sleeper hits. Sure, ‘fairs’ aren’t currently really a thing, but the global chaos didn’t stop Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH) from rallying and creating a fully digital version of Watches & Wonders. Which we promptly translated into a TV show, because we wanted to give you the option to watch fair and chill, if trawling a website sounded too much like work. The best thing about this, was when the FHH then linked to our show from their fully digital version. The circle was complete. We digress. The bottom line was that a plethora of brand shiny new releases, even in digital form, was like finding H20 in the middle of the Mojave. And while many were fawning over JLC and IWC’s new releases (that Portugieser 42 QP … oof), there was one watch unveiled that instantly spoke to us as the under-the-radar star of the show. Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you the Baume & Mercier Clifton Baumatic Day-Date and Moon-Phase Automatic in steel – the sleeper hit of W&W 2020. Baume & Mercier’s standard three-hander Clifton Baumatic is already a deeply admirable watch, especially for…
It’s been a colourful, diverse, emotional rollercoaster of a week in the world, and at Time+Tide. This no doubt has a lot to do with the fact that most of us, wherever we are, have ticked over 50 days in lockdown. We are no exception, and have continued working remotely from our homes, and occasionally checking in at base to pick up watches and play the very odd game of table tennis, once the dust has been wiped off, that is. And for me, and the team at large, this was the week when we properly got over it. Enough now. So, perhaps as a result, we have really gone there. Lots of emotions in the stories that were published. Let’s recap some of them. 1. Mourning On Monday, we mourned the temporary absence of the Baselworld Schnitzel Dinner, a brilliant night hosted by the founder of Monochrome, Frank Geelen. This might seem super niche, and cliquey from the outside. Why should the average watch lover care about a dinner in a pub for the media to smash pints and carry on? But it was more than that. It was also a nexus between the teams writing and reporting on…
The Rolex Day-Date is the stuff of watch collecting lore. Not only has it been worn by some of the most powerful and well-known people to ever walk this earth (understandable, given it’s nickname: the President), but the sheer number of variations that it has been produced in over the years make it a goldmine of scholarship and investigation for the collection community. While it might be said the majority of changes Rolex make are glacially slow and (almost) unnoticeable in difference from year to year, the Rolex Day-Date tends to be an exception, as it went through explosive periods of new and experimental design that resulted in dials, bracelets and cases that were never seen in any other Rolex models. I wanted to dip my toe into this world of wooden dials and white gold watches (just to reference a few) and take a look at some of the more unusual variations you might not have seen before. So with that in mind, let’s take a look at a few different examples of the famous Rolex Day-Date that have appeared over time. @johnson167 Rolex Day-Date Ref.18039 “Wood”, Perfect Condition ⛹ ♂️⛹ ♂️⛹ ♂️⛹ ♂️⛹ ♂️⛹ ♂️ Not only is this a wonderful watch, but Mr…
The Girard-Perregaux Laureato was among the vanguard of the first luxury sports watches when it was released in 1975. But it hasn’t stayed in the past, with the constantly evolving new materials and technologies used by the brand in this collection bringing it convincingly into 2020 (with materials such as the electric-looking Carbon Glass, which we looked at here). As well as winning over certain members of the Time+Tide team, who have since professed their love for the model. In this enthusiastic approach to modernity and to new materials, we can announce the release of the Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute Light, creating that well-known case shape in sapphire crystal for the first time. This isn’t the first time we have seen a Girard-Perregaux cased in sapphire — with the Girard-Perregaux Quasar that was released in 2019 also featuring an attractive transparent case — but it is the first time we have seen it released in such a sports context, continuing their own legacy of interesting and unusual sports watches. One of the reasons you don’t see many watches with sapphire crystal cases is the huge challenge in manufacturing them. While sapphire crystal is very hard, it is also brittle and prone to shattering…
For their spring novelty releases this year, Chopard have reinvigorated two of their most popular collections: the Mille Miglia and the L.U.C families. We are offered something for everyone, with the more refined L.U.C collection featuring attractive new perpetual calendar references with tastefully balanced dial proportions and a beautifully decorated movement, while the sportiness of the gentleman driver comes across in the Mille Miglia collection, this year with an azzurro motif. Let’s take a closer look at what’s new. L.U.C Perpetual Twin Getting a makeover this year are two new models in the L.U.C ‘Complications’ family, using the same in-house 96.22-L caliber as the lauded 2016 Perpetual Twin, which claims the honour of first chronometer-rated perpetual calendar in stainless steel. Its 22k gold micro-rotor and twin-barrel system grants a typically power-hungry complication a healthy reserve of 65 hours, making sure you won’t have to reset the date too often if left off a winder for a day or two. These aren’t hidden innovations either, as the display caseback reveals a wonderfully decorated movement. The dial of the 43mm timepiece has been tidied up, replacing cut-off Roman numerals with less invasive pointed indices. This cleaner look may give the watch a…
In what is surely, surely the last press release relating to the collapse of Baselworld, the MCH Group has announced that it has “taken the decision not to hold Baselworld in 2021”. Insert saddest ever meme here. The release also outlines the “amicable” end to a dispute over brands accessing refunds for this year’s cancelled fair. It appears some remuneration has now been negotiated and accepted by brands including Rolex, Patek Philippe and TAG Heuer. “I welcome the constructive attitude of the representatives of the MCH Group, which has enabled us to find a balanced solution,” says Hubert J. du Plessix, President of the Swiss Exhibitors’ Committee. “I would also like to thank Patek Philippe, Rolex, Tudor, Chanel, Chopard, Hublot, Zenith and TAG Heuer, who, in a spirit of solidarity with the sector as a whole, have agreed to a lower refund so that the other exhibitors can benefit from better conditions.” Bernd Stadlwieser, CEO of the MCH Group, stresses: “We are pleased to have worked together and, in just a short time, found a solution that is acceptable to everyone. In the light of the large loss of revenue due to COVID-19 and our responsibility to all our stakeholder…
Ring the bell, Celebrity Watch Death Match is back for another round of mayhem, and this time we’re squaring off two of Tinseltown’s most talented anchors, both of whom demonstrate an aficionado’s taste in timepieces – Ellen DeGeneres and Trevor Noah. These talk show hosts are known for interviewing some of the world’s biggest celebrities each and every week, and in doing so they’ve become mega-celebrities themselves. However, for watch lovers, the real rockstars of both their shows are the ones attached to their left wrists. To make this a fair fight, we’ve designed each round to feature a single brand: Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe respectively. And we’ve limited it to a high-octane three-round battle. This could have gone deep into the twelfth, but we figured this ought to get it done. Who will win out in this war of the watches? There’s only one way to find out: Daily Beater Ellen DeGeneres – Rolex GMT-Master II Ref. 116718LN Wow, talk about a first round thwack from Ellen … it’s a green and gold gut punch. Aside from this watch looking drop-dead gorgeous thanks to its arresting combo of solid 18k yellow gold case and contrasting green…
Spousal approval for watch purchases is a thing. Plain and simple. It’s also, we should add to be responsible, the sign of a healthy and balanced relationship. You want a new watch? You’re going to draw from shared funds to buy it? It’s right and fair that you get the green light from your partner in crime. While we acknowledge and respect this process, we have also discovered, in our own experience, certain ways to stack the approval process in your favour. One of them is to buy said spouse attractive watches at any opportunity. Including but not limited to Mother’s Day. We have a suggestion that is at a price point favourable to spontaneity. The brand new Undone Urban 34 Killy, which you can buy in our shop now. This is the first ever ladies piece by Undone, the Hong Kong-based indie watchmaker. And, if you ask me, it is a breath of fresh air in the world of microbrand horology – for too long, indie brands have unashamedly geared their products towards consumers with an XY chromosome. This fetching vintage-toned watch is not just for women in size, it’s also offered with a double length “double tour” style leather…