BLUE HOUR: Talk about a collector’s watch.
Piaget has tapped Hong Kong–based platform Wristcheck for a 30-piece limited edition of its ultra-thin Altiplano Ultimate Automatic, which clocks in at 4.3 millimeters thick.
Priced at 45,000 euros, the collaboration revisits the 41-mm white gold timepiece with the platform’s signature blue applied to the hour counter and hands to the screws and peripheral rotor. It will be available from the watchmaker’s boutiques and Wristcheck.
Calling himself “a watch nerd at heart,” Wristcheck’s Austen Chu said he and cofounder Sean Wong had “picked this model because the entire movement is essentially on the dial side of the watch, giving collectors a fully uninterrupted view of the mechanics that make a watch tick, from the peripheral rotor, to the gear train, all the way to the balance wheel.”
Plus, “of course, the watch is an absolute joy to wear on the wrist,” he added.
In plain view is the 910P movement and its 238 components, a descendant of the watchmaker’s now-iconic 9P movement launched in 1957. Throughout the decades the company continued to press forward with ultra-thin movements, culminating in 2017’s Altiplano Ultimate Automatic 910P, which was awarded the Mechanical Exception Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève in 2021.
The caseback is engraved with both the Wristcheck logo and Piaget crest. A deep blue calfskin strap with lightly contrasting topstitching completes the ensemble.
Piaget’s chief executive officer Benjamin Comar told WWD “it has been amazing for us to see the love that the watch community was showing to Piaget, our signatures and our legacy” in the past few years. “It’s an honor today to see this dynamic crew put their name next to ours on this limited edition.”
Founded in Hong Kong in 2020 by then-24-year-old Chu — also known as @horoloupe on Instagram — and Wong, Wristcheck quickly made its mark in the secondary watch market thanks to its focus on trust, transparency and reliable information.
The consignment-based platform has since opened physical spaces in Hong Kong, Macao and New York as well as received investments from French soccer player Kylian Mbappé and Jay-Z.
