As is typical Piaget devoted itself to extra-thin timepieces at SIHH 2015, including the hand-wound Altiplano Chronograph, now the thinnest on the market.

Piaget presented a manageable collection of watches at SIHH 2015, mainly variants of existing models, but also some well conceived vintage inspired pieces like the Andy Warhol Beta 21 reissue, as well as the recording-clinching Altiplano Chronograph.

[All prices are in Singapore dollars (S$) and include 7% tax. US$1 = S$1.35]

Having successfully carved out a niche for itself with ultra-thin watches, Piaget is doing its best to create the thinnest watches in every category of watchmaking, as it did with the Altiplano 900P of last year. This year it introduced the thinnest chronograph on the market, the Altiplano Chronograph, just 8.24 mm high.

It’s a hand-wound, two-counter chronograph with elapsed minutes and seconds – the register at nine o’clock is a second time zone – with all the usual features of a modern chronograph, column wheel and vertical clutch.

The movement is 4.65 mm high, not the slimmest chronograph movement ever (that honour goes to the F. Piguet 1180), bearing a lot of similarity to the Jaeger-LeCoultre calibre 750/751. But every component of the movement has been thinned out, making it slimmer than its peers; the balance cock for instance is recessed. 

The case is thin, with a slim case band, and a slightly higher bezel and back, enhancing the impression of slimness. This will cost S$40,900 in pink gold and S$57,500 in white gold with a diamond bezel.

Another ultra-thin complication is the Emperador Coussin Tourbillon Automatic. First launched in 2011, this has been facelifted with cleaner, rounder lines on the movement bridges. The flying tourbillon is located at one o’clock, while the micro-rotor is at nine o’clock.

Though large at 46.5 mm in diameter, the Coussin Tourbillon is only 8.85 mm high. The case is white gold, and priced at S$298,000.

Also facelifted is the Gouverneur Perpetual Calendar in pink gold, just 5.6 mm thick. Retrograde indicators show the month and day, while the counter at eight o’clock is a second time zone. The 855P movement inside is automatic with a gold rotor.

And the time-only Altiplano is now offered with a matching bracelet. Narrow relative to the case diameter, the bracelet gives the watch a slightly larger appearance, while still looking elegant. 

Available in yellow, rose or white gold, the new Altiplano is offered in two sizes, 34 mm and 38 mm, with the option of a diamond bezel. Both sizes are equipped with the calibre 534P automatic movement.

Prices start at S$40,900 for the yellow gold and climb to S$58,000 for the white gold with a diamond bezel.

The rest of our SIHH roundups are right here:

A. Lange & Söhne

Cartier

Greubel Forsey

IWC

Jaeger-LeCoultre

Panerai

Parmigiani

Piaget

Ralph Lauren

Roger Dubuis 

Vacheron Constantin

The latest iteration of the Richard Mille’s bestselling model is the RM 011 Ceramic NTPT Flyback Chronograph Asia Limited Edition, introduced to mark the opening of the brand’s new store in Singapore.

  

Unveiled alongside the opening of Richard Mille‘s latest store, located inside Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) in Singapore, the RM 011 Ceramic NTPT Asia Limited Edition is primarily red and white, with a sprinkling of blue accents on the dial.  As is typical of all tonneau-shaped Richard Mille watches, the RM 011 Ceramic NTPT Asia Limited Edition has a sandwich case construction, comprising a front and back in white ceramic, with the case band in between made of NTPT carbon. North Thin Ply Technology (NTPT) is a company that produces a particular form of carbon fibre reinforced polymer that offers superior strength due to its construction. When used in a watch, the material has a decorative, woodgrain-like pattern due to the layering of the carbon fibre.

Materials aside the RM 011 Ceramic NTPT Asia Limited Edition is identical to the stock RM 011, with a Vaucher automatic movement with a Dubois-Depraz chronograph module featuring a flyback and annual calendar.

The Richard Mille boutique in RWS Singapore

Available only in the brand’s Asian boutiques, the RM 011 Ceramic NTPT Asia Limited Edition is priced at 206,100 Singapore dollars, inclusive of 7% tax. That’s equivalent to about US$165,000 at current rates. Only 50 pieces will be made.

Styled with the chunky, aggressive look typically of many dive watches, the Carl F. Bucherer Patravi ScubaTec is now available in rose gold. Containing nearly a quarter pound of gold and measuring 44.6 mm in diameter, this is a large timepiece.

The bezel is ceramic in black and blue, with the crown guard and case back in black-coated titanium. Two manta rays are sculpted in relief on the case back, a reference to the Manta Trust, a charity supported by Carl F. Bucherer that aids conservation of manta rays.

Rated to 500 m, the case has a helium release valve is at eight o’clock. Inside is an ETA-sourced, automatic movement. The Patravi ScubaTec in rose gold will cost 23,700 Swiss francs.

Carl F. Bucherer is unusual as it is a subsidiary of Bucherer, a major watch retailer headquartered in Switzerland that claims to offer the largest selection of Rolex watches anywhere in the world.

Though essentially a house brand of a watch retailer, Carl F. Bucherer is a well developed brand in itself, with several manufacturing facilities in Switzerland, including the movement specialist formerly known as THA in St. Croix.

And thanks to Bucherer’s strong network in Europe, especially in Switzerland and Germany, as well as an effort to market its brand in Asia, Carl F. Bucherer has developed into the most global of retailer house brands.