SIHH 2010

Evan Rast presents a review of notable pieces from SIHH 2010

When thinking of words to describe this year’s Salon International de Haute Horlogerie (SIHH 2010), the first two that come to mind are simplicity and elegance. The brands clearly focused on expertise and artistry rather than on novelty, which resulted in a fine showing of what I feel are soon-to-be classics.
Releases such as Piaget’s ultra-thin Altiplano, which the company attests is the thinnest automatic calibre and watch in the world, lead the movement. The new Piaget Calibre 1280P is only 2.35-mm thick, while the case is only 5.25mm. The watch, though inspired from a 1960s model, remains very modern with a diameter of 43mm.
Vacheron Constantin has revived some of its finest and thinnest movements from the 1950s and 1960s for its Historiques collection. The Ultra-fine 1955, powered by the handwound 1003 movement, comes in a thickness of 1.64mm, making the watch, at 4.1mm, the thinnest manually wound watch in the world. It’s a very balanced size with a case diameter of 36mm, and the decoration of the calibre is beautiful and refined.

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