Piaget Ultra-thin Dress Watch, white gold, 1980s

Identity Piaget ultra-thin dress watch, 18-carat white gold, 1980s. Manual-winding mechanical movement. 18-carat white gold case, round ultra-thin, 32 mm, milled crown. Silver dial, applied baton indexes, baton hands. Plexiglas crystal. Leather strap, pin buckle. Horological context Founded in 1874 in La Côte-aux-Fées, in the Neuchâtel Jura, by Georges Piaget, the house first supplied movements before signing its own watches under its name in the mid-twentieth century. Piaget made itself the specialist of the ultra-thin: 1957 brought the manual-winding 9P calibre, two millimetres thick; 1960 the automatic micro-rotor 12P, then the thinnest in the world at 2.3 mm. This mastery freed the designers, who multiplied dress and jewellery watches in precious metals — hardstone dials, clous de Paris bezels, extremely slim cases. This dress watch, two-hand and manually wound, is a pared-back expression of it. Character Two hands, no date or seconds: the reading is pared to essentials, and therein lies its elegance. The extreme slimness of the case, a Piaget signature, completes the hallmark. Serviced. Very good condition. Supplied in a Contre-Temps box with the 24-month Contre-Temps warranty certificate.