From smartphones and laptops to carry-on items, designers will always go to great lengths to make their products thinner in order to please the majority of male consumers.
In the world of mechanical watches, the ultra-thin competition has never stopped.
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Although "ultra-thin" is not a clear function like the three questions and the perpetual calendar, it is recognized by the industry as a difficult and complex technology, and has thus become an important battlefield for the top brands to compete in strength.
In the past 10 years, the field of ultra-thin watches has become more and more inward-looking, the limit has been repeatedly broken, and the competitive level of micro-mechanical engineering has reached a few percent.
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In fact, if we hadn't seen it with our own eyes, it would be hard to imagine a watch that could be so thin.
How to put dozens or even hundreds of parts into a case a few millimeters thick, the difficulty can be imagined.
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The reason why watchmakers are struggling to break records is largely to grasp their right to speak in the industry, but also to value the advertising effect brought about by the title of "the world's thinnest watch".
Today, let's take a look at the "inner volume" of the watch industry and feel the infinite shock brought about by another extreme thinness.
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Count Piaget: 2mm
At the 2022 Geneva "Watches and Wonders" Haute Horlogerie Show, Count Piaget unveiled the Altiplano Ultra Slim Series Ultimate Concept Tribute Edition (hereinafter referred to as the "AUC Homage Edition").
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Come and feel how flat it is, thinner than a $1 coin.
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In 2018, the first AUC ultra-thin concept watch was born, breaking the record at the time with a body thickness of 2mm and becoming the "world's thinnest watch".
After 2 years of polishing and improvement, mass production was finally achieved in 2020.
The 2mm thick watch contains more than 160 parts, like a miniature engineering universe of precision.
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In order to achieve such an extreme slimness, Piaget abandoned the standard-style watch design.
The replacement of traditional structures such as "case + movement + case cover" with "integrated movement" is its biggest technical highlight.
A single metal substrate is precision-cut and milled to obtain a three-dimensional case containing fixed shafts, gear slots, shaft eyes, etc., with the function of a main splint.
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All parts are minimized and reconstructed, the eccentric time division disc is designed to be sunken, hidden under the protection of the bridge, and the hour hand is replaced by a small disc in the dial plane.
The thickness of the sapphire glass is only 0.2 mm, and the thinnest part of the case is a staggering 0.12 mm, which greatly compresses the thickness of the watch.
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The strength of a traditional 18-carat gold case is clearly not strong enough to cope with such an extreme design.
To avoid the risk of deformation when worn, Count Piaget used a special metal material called "cobalt-based alloy M64BC®", which is twice as strong as 18K gold.
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Due to the complex manufacturing process, the current production capacity is very low, and only 3 AUC watches can be produced a year, which can be personalized according to customer needs.
The price is expected to be no less than $420,000.
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Capable of creating the ultimate watch that broke the world record, the top Swiss watchmaker born in 1874 has accumulated a lot of money in the field of ultra-thin timepieces.
As early as 1957, Count Piaget introduced the world's thinnest 2 mm 9P mechanical movement at that time. In the years since, it has been committed to continuous breakthroughs, laying a strong foundation for the production of ultra-thin watches.
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In 2014, the Piaget Count Altiplano 900P mechanical watch was introduced, breaking the world's thinnest record previously set by Jaeger-LeCoultre with a thickness of 3.65mm.
The forward-looking design concept of "combining the case and the movement into one" also began with it.
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Three years after the launch of the thinnest manually wound mechanical watch, Count Piaget once again struck a strong blow, continuing to improve on the basis of the innovative structure of 900P.
With a body thickness of only 4.3mm, the Altiplano Ultimate 910P, surpassed the Oto Finissimo AUTOMATIC watch launched by Italian fine jewelry brand Bvlgari that year and won the title of "the thinnest self-winding mechanical watch".
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The AUC ultra-thin concept watch, which was launched in 2018, is a continuation of the concept and technology of the first two.
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It is worth noting, however, that this year, Count Piget no longer uses the word "thinnest" when promoting the new AUC Homage Edition. Just in March, the world record for the thinnest watch it had set was broken by Bvlagri and was dragged off the throne by a slight margin of 0.2mm.
No way, the world of ultra-thin mechanical watchmaking has always been fierce, especially the two major brands of Piaget and Bvlagri, which frequently staged peak duels.
At this level of competition, the significance of 1mm is self-evident.
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Bvlagri: 1.8mm
That is, a few years ago, a number of non-traditional watchmaking brands began to enter the field of fine watchmaking through capitalization operations.
While the established watchmakers we know well are desperately vying for the supremacy of mechanical manufacturing, the non-traditional watchmaking brands are also ambitious, trying to achieve overtaking in curves.
Bvlagri is one of them, although it has been in the field of ultra-thin watches for less than 10 years, but with its excellent technical strength and advanced design concepts, it has repeatedly refreshed the world record, which has impressed the industry.
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The first Oto Finissimo Tourbillon watch, launched in 2014, set a new world record for the tourbillon with a full watch thickness of 5mm and a movement thickness of 1.95mm.
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The competition for ultra-thin three-question watches is also extremely fierce.
In 2013, Vacheron Constantin released the Heritage Series Ultra-Thin Tri-Form 1731, with an 8.09mm case loaded with a 3.9mm thick movement;
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In 2014, Jaeger-LeCoultre Jaeger-LeCoultre Hybris Mechanica 11 Flying Tourbillon Ultra-Thin Master Three Questions Made a stunning appearance, the case thickness was only 7.9mm, and what is more, after the combination of tourbillon and self-winding two structures, the thickness of the movement was still controlled at 4.8mm;
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In 2016, Bvlagri followed suit, winning the race with the extremely slim shape of the Oto Finissimo Minute Repeater.
Case thickness 6.85mm
Caliber 3.12mm
This year, the brand continued its efforts with the release of the new Oto Finissimo Ultra ultra-thin mechanical watch, pushing the case thickness to a new limit: 1.8mm.
This is the eighth time in less than 10 years that Bvlagri has rewritten the ultra-thin record, and has established its super backwave status in the ultra-thin field.
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In order to ensure the rigidity and structural integrity of the watch, the Octo Finissimo Ultra watch uses "sandblasted titanium" to create a case, and the middle layer of the case, the bezel, the lugs, the back and other places have chosen "tungsten carbide".
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Its construction features the use of the bottom cover as a movement sandwich, so that 170 movement parts can be effectively integrated into a limited space of 1.8 mm thick.
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Parts are arranged in a flattened manner to reduce the thickness caused by overlap. Some parts are supplied with 4 functions at the same time to maximize utility as much as possible.
The hours, minutes and seconds displays are arranged on the small dial
There is no crown mechanism on the case, and time adjustment and upwork are carried out by means of 2 horizontal knobs on the back.
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In addition, the winding lid of each watch is printed with a unique two-dimensional code, and the wearer can access the digital world by scanning the code and get a glimpse of the secret behind the watch production.
The brand's exclusive NFT artwork certification is also a highlight.
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In the process of research and development of this ultra-thin watch, 8 patented technologies including face plate assembly, barrel structure, oscillator module, differential display, assembled structure, refining belt, bimetallic middle layer case- splint -case back, etc. have been obtained.
It can be said that whether it is a technological breakthrough or a bold attempt in the field of metaversics, the Oto Finissimo Ultra ultra-thin watch launched by Bvlagri this year has earned enough gimmicks and traffic.
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In a tribute to the 10th anniversary of the Octo collection, the worldwide limited edition of 10 pieces for a whopping $440,000 price tag.
The 2022 vintage Oto Finissimo self-winding watch and the Oto Finissimo GMT automatic chronograph have also been released, with 200 pieces each on sale.
In short, the above data is enough to break our inherent impression of non-traditional watchmaking brands, and Bvlagri's step into the field of mechanical ultra-thin is not a whim.
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Richard Mille: 1.75mm
It turns out that no one can rule in the ultra-thin field for too long.
When Bvlagri Bog defeated Count Piget at the beginning of this year to set a new world record of 1.8mm, he probably did not expect that after four months, the title of "the world's thinnest mechanical watch" would once again change hands.
Swiss independent watchmaking richard Mille and Italian luxury sports car manufacturer Ferrari jointly created the first mechanical watch "RM UP-01 Ferrari" as soon as it was launched, with a slight advantage of 0.05mm to win the ultra-thin king.
Case thickness 1.75mm
Caliber 1.18mm
As a disruptive presence in the traditional Swiss watchmaking industry, Richard Mille has always been known worldwide for his bold and innovative designs and the courage to push the limits of technology.
In the pursuit of absolute thinness, we also adhere to the brand's purpose as always, creating an expensive "concept watch" that cannot be worn daily is not the purpose, and it will also take into account durability while ensuring coolness.
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Unlike the Design Philosophy of Count Pietet and Bvlagriborg "using the movement as a case base to reduce thickness", Richard Mille retained the traditional structure of assembling the movement inside the case and managed to achieve thinness.
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The stability of the escapement is another challenge, for which the brand has specially developed a patented titanium ultra-flat balance wheel, which greatly reduces the thickness of the movement while guaranteeing the same safety performance as the traditional anchor escapement.
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The case, baseplate and bridge are all made of "grade 5 titanium", which is harder, stronger and 40% lighter than steel, and with the unique movement structure, the RM UP-01 Ferrari, which is only 1.75mm thick, has a diamond body and can withstand acceleration shocks of more than 5,000 grams.
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The dial design resembles the instrument panel of a sports car, and the parts are organically integrated on the same plane. The time and sub-disc are directly above the surface, and on the right is the balance spring device, which is protected by a sapphire crystal with a thickness of 0.2 mm.
At the bottom right is the classic Prancing Horse logo of partner Ferrari with a laser engraving.
The function selector to adjust the automatic winding (W) or manual winding function (H), as well as the crown that sets the time or winds the barrel, are arranged on the bezel, on the left.
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In fact, it is not surprising that the two brands have joined forces, and the two have a long history in the past.
In 2004 Richard Mille, the RM 005 self-winding watch, named after Formula One racer Felipe Massa, is limited to 300 pieces worldwide.
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By 2021, the two have reached a long-term cooperation agreement.
Richard Mille will be a sponsor of several top Ferrari-related races such as Formula One, Ferrari Challenge, Ferrari Drivers' Academy and many more.
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Launched this year, the first mechanical watch, the RM UP-01 Ferrari, is available in a global edition of 150 pieces and costs $1,888,000, making it not only the thinnest watch in the world, but also the most expensive simple function table.
In fact, this formula one on the wrist costs even more than many Ferrari supercars.
Formula One Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz
What is the concept of 0.05mm? It is about equal to the height of 10 human red blood cells.
That is to say, it has long exceeded the limit of what human fingers can perceive, and how fierce the dispute between the ultra-thin field and the millimeter is is obvious.
Like racing, always looking for a breakthrough in a few thousandths of a second, and this is destined to be a long and arduous unknown road.
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The ultra-thin dispute between square inches is really a master move.
Those bold attempts beyond our imagination are not only aesthetic breakthroughs, but also mean that the level of science and technology is being pushed to new limits again and again.
Therefore, the watch is not only a miniature precision instrument with jewelry, full of parts and winding, it is also the most extreme and shocking mechanical beauty created by human hands.
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PS: The pictures in this article come from the Internet, if you have copyright questions, please contact us in time.
Author/Planner: The ground tank is Li Wenjing
Typography: A red hair
Producer: GaGa
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