Slim Skeleton

Super-Slim Polo Skeleton

There are few finer expressions of horological art than that of ‘skeletonisation’ - the intricate reduction of dials and movements to their bare minimum in order to reveal the true, beating heart of a watch in all its mechanical glory.

Creating a skeleton watch requires vision, confidence, time and the considerable skill and experience of numerous specialists in order to combine exceptional aesthetics with dependable functionality - and it is a genre for which Piaget has been renowned for half a century.

The first Piaget skeleton watches were made during the 1970s and, as with many of the Maison’s creations, they immediately attracted a high-profile following. One of the most noted early adopters was the jazz trumpet legend Miles Davis who always turned-up to appearances with a briefcase containing a selection of timepieces, including Piaget watches, choosing his ‘watch of the night’ just before he took to the stage. And fittingly for a man known for the intricacy and innovation of his playing, a gold Piaget skeleton could often be seen on his wrist during major performances.

Since Piaget has long been renowned for creating mechanisms of exceptional slimness, it set-out to marry its two signature disciplines by developing calibres that were both exquisitely thin and meticulously skeletonised, setting multiple records along the way by unveiling the thinnest skeleton movements the world had ever seen, variously incorporating tourbillons, moonphase displays, exquisite enamelling, diamond settings and automatic winding.

Now, Piaget is delighted to announce its latest adventure in skeleton watch making; a fully skeletonised version of its celebrated Piaget Polo, the groundbreaking luxury sports watch created by Piaget in 1979.

In order to successfully develop the Piaget Polo Skeleton, Piaget’s designers and engineers had to consider the key aspects of the Piaget Polo that have made it instantly recognizable - notably its curved case surmounted by a round bezel, its cushion shaped dial opening and its slim profile.

However, perfecting the Polo Skeleton required a case to be created that was a remarkable 30 percent thinner than existing versions, and an evolution of the Piaget 1200S self-winding skeleton movement powered by an off-centre micro rotor engraved with Piaget coat of arms.

The challenge was to maintain the bold and unmistakable look that gives the Piaget Polo its strong personality while simultaneously achieving an unprecedented combination of elegance, usability and comfort through the thinnest case ever seen on the model.

The result is nothing short of a wearable work of art - a 42mm steel-cased sports watch measuring just 6.5mm thick and powered by Piaget’s 1200S1 self-winding, manufacture movement - entirely developed and produced in-house - which is a wafer-like 2.4mm thin.

Despite the intricate appearance of the pared-down components, the Polo Skeleton remains just as robust, reliable and practical as the other models, featuring 44 hours of power reserve and water resistance down to three atmospheres. Additionally, the polished and satin-finished ‘H’ design integrated bracelet that has become synonymous with the Piaget Polo has also been revised in order to provide an interchangeable function. This enables it to be swapped effortlessly for the additional interchangeable leather strap supplied with each watch, adding to its versatility and lending an extra dimension to the Piaget Polo Skeleton’s already distinctive character. The new Piaget Polo Skeleton is available in two highly individual designs, the first with a movement in Piaget Blue PVD, the second in a slate gray finish. In each version, the famous Piaget Polo case has been reduced to a mere 6.5mm thick (almost 3mm slimmer) while the intricately skeletonised movement and even the hands themselves have been pared-down for the ultimate in transparency.

A clear sapphire crystal case back, meanwhile, allows the meticulously finished and highly detailed movement to be seen and appreciated from both sides of the watch.

The Great British Escape

Stoke Park is a luxury 5 AA Red Star Hotel, Spa and Country Club set within 300 acres of beautiful parkland and offers world-class sporting and leisure facilities.

Facilities include:

• 49 Bedrooms and Suites • Award winning Spa • 27 hole Championship Golf Course • 3 Restaurants and Bars, including

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Hot Yoga and Spinning Studios hosting up to 50 classes per week • Crèche • Games Room • Playground

35 minutes from London, 7 miles from Heathrow Airport and a short drive from Windsor makes Stoke Park an ideal location and perfect setting for stopovers and luxury breaks.

A. Lange & Söhne

A. Lange & Söhne’s two reasons to celebrate - the 175th anniversary of Saxony’s precision watchmaking industry and the 30th anniversary of a courageous new beginning.

With the introduction of a pocket watch production on 7 December 1845, Ferdinand Adolph Lange laid the cornerstone for Glashütte to rise to prominence as a watchmaking hub. From the humble beginnings as a teaching workshop with 15 apprentices, he not only developed a watch manufactory which was successful far beyond the borders of Germany - he also initiated watch production based on the division of labour which was modern for its day by encouraging his employees to establish their own companies.

Inspired by long-standing tradition, the watchmakers of A. Lange & Söhne today strive to advance precision watchmaking with innovative ideas and excellent craftsmanship. Their driving motivation of never standing still is exemplified by the new anniversary edition with the epithet “Homage to F. A. Lange”. The three limited models with cases made of exclusive honey gold, special movement decorations and special dials are dedicated to watchmaking pioneer Ferdinand Adolph Lange. They represent a unique connection between traditional watchmaking elements and innovative craftsmanship in processing techniques, thus building a bridge from the origins of Lange watchmaking to the present.

The unifying element of the three new limited editions is the innovative case material, honey gold, which symbolises the scientific side of the manufactory and stands for the stated goal of using metallurgic discoveries for watchmaking. Additionally, all three models stand out thanks to their special movement decorations, which include grained plates made of German silver and black-rhodiumed engravings on the balance cock. What is more, each of the three watches features a special dial.

The dial of the Tourbograph Perpetual Honeygold “Homage to F. A. Lange” receives a unique and totally new approach. It is black-rhodiumed and, like the 43-millimetre case, consists of solid, 18-carat honey gold. The raised numerals and scales as well as the logo contrast vividly against the dark background. They are not applied and instead are raised from the material by about 0.15 millimetres. In combination with the relief, this creates an incomparable three-dimensional effect. The hands of the time and calendar displays as well as the black-rhodiumed lunar disc are made of the same gold alloy. Its two glistening, slightly cambered moons are framed by hand-engraved stars. The dial and the lunar discs are crafted in-house to assure the perfect implementation of the innovative design idea.

Tourbograph Perpetual Honeygold “Homage to F. A. Lange” features a quintet of complications and could legitimately be called a grand complication - if it weren’t for the Grand Complication piece that already exists in the A. Lange & Söhne catalogue. Immensely difficult to design and create, the connection between the perpetual calendar and the rattrapante chronograph posed a special challenge for the engineers. This is because when both the chronograph function is used and the calendar displays switch, mechanical conflicts must be avoided alongside amplitude fluctuations that could have a negative impact on rate stability. Here, A. Lange & Söhne was able to benefit from its many years of experience in the development of highly complex chronographs. The top-mounted rattrapante (or split-seconds) hand in blued steel can be stopped independently of the gold-plated chronograph hand and also resynchronised with it via the pusher at ten o’clock. This allows any number of lap times to be stopped during a running time measurement. The mechanical switching processes are controlled with two column wheels and can be observed in real time through the sapphire-crystal caseback. The 30-minutecounter at nine o’clock completes the repertoire of chronograph displays. With their carefully orchestrated interaction, the tourbillon and the fusée-and-chain transmission minimise two unavoidable physical phenomena that are common in all mechanical watches - gravity and the waning force of the mainspring. In 1994, A. Lange & Söhne succeeded for the first time in integrating a fusée-andchain transmission in the compact dimensions of a wrist-watch. Via a fusée connected to the spring barrel with a chain, the power of the mainspring is delivered to the movement with constant force thanks to the ingenious way in which the principle of levers is harnessed. A planetary gearing mechanism inside the fusée assures that the flow of power from the mainspring barrel to the escapement is not interrupted while the watch is being wound.

Please visit alange-soehne.com for more information on these stunning limited pieces.

1815 Thin Honey Gold (175 pieces) - £29,600 | 1815 Rattrapante Honey Gold (100 pieces) - £124,100 Tourbograph Perpetual Honey Gold (50 pieces) - €500,000 | alange-soehne.com