Boasting 174 diamonds, here’s Piaget's ‘World Record thin' wristwatch

Limited to 235 copies with a 2.35mm movement, the new Altiplano has to be seen to be believed...

How thin do you like your wristwatches? Because Piaget may have the perfect timepiece for you with its Altiplano Gem-set Skeleton, boasting "World Record" thinness...

The watch has been released in two versions: the 43mm Anniversary Edition with Calibre 1200P and the 43mm with Calibre 1208P. The former is limited to just 235 examples.

At 5.25mm thick and boasting the world's thinnest automatic movement at 2.35mm (likewise the 1208P), the Anniversary Edition debuted at this year's SIHH (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie) in Geneva, Switzerland.

The strikingly-thin Altiplano Gem-set Skeleton

To achieve the watch's stunning thinness, Piaget 'threw down the gauntlet' and asked its in-house team of watchmakers and jewellers to build the watch's entire movement in diamonds.

Consequently, The Altiplano's movement is set with 174 brilliant-cut diamonds, the maximum possible. Meanwhile, as much material as possible was whittled from its plates and bridges.

Combine this approach with a movement that was already at the outer limits of micromechanics, plus some high polish by Piaget's craftspeople, and hey presto: The Altiplano Gem-set Skeleton.

Prongs hold in the movement's 174 brilliant-cut diamonds

Otherwise, the watch's photographs speak for themselves.

With its 235-limited run, the Anniversary Edition in particular is sure to become one of the most legendary, coveted and valuable horological pieces of 2010.

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Images: Piaget