Piaget Gouverneur Tourbillon – World’s thinnest shaped Tourbillon

Now Piaget launched the Gouverneur Tourbillon, you may wonder whether the Gouverneur is a new model. It is and it isn’t. Piaget actually restyled and relaunched the entire Gouverneur collection and did a more than excellent job on the  by adding a playful mix of round and oval shapes and of course magnificent in-house Piaget movements, of which two entirely new ones! 

Piaget is of course known for its magnificent ultra-thin movements, however not everyone knows that Piaget started as a movement manufacturer in 1874. In the 1960’s the manufacture expanded the scope with the launch of jewelry watches, followed by a jewelry collections. And they still excel in magnificent movements like the one that features in the Gouverneur Tourbillon.

The old Gouverneur collection, from the 1990’s, comprised of a Gouverneur Chronometer, Perpetual Calendar and a Chronograph. All models had a relatively simple round case and featured lovely and elegantly shaped lugs. The size of the case was suitable for that era and measured between 33 and 35 mm in diameter. All three models of the new Gouverneur collection come in a contemporary sized case that measures 43 mm in diameter.

The Gouverneur collection features a round case with an oval bezel and dial and on the dial, inside the oval, is another round circle in the centre of the dial. The round and oval shapes cleverly arranged a unique sense of visual equilibrium. Furthermore the dial offers a wealth of subtle details and symbols.

At the 12 o’clock position the flying tourbillon bearing the stylised “P” for Piaget, slowly moves around in one minute and thus also being the seconds hand. Towards the 6 o’clock position is a moon phase indicator requiring a one-day correction once every 122 years.

The new in-house caliber 642P with a one-minute flying tourbillon and a moon phase indicator measures just 4 mm in height and captures exactly what Piaget stands for. Ultra ‘Haute Horlogerie’.

The ultra-thin (2.8 mm) and ultra-light (0.2 grams) flying tourbillon features Piaget’s “P”. This is a particularly delicate horological feat given the asymmetrical shape of this letter. Why? Well, on such a tiny, light and delicate part of movement’s regulating organ, the weight must be absolutely balanced to ensure a perfect chronometrical rate. If the tourbillon isn’t balanced well, this will negatively affect the rate. Look at how Piaget designed the “P” in such way to ensure balance.

The Piaget 642P flying tourbillon calibre is entirely finished by hand: circular-grained mainplate, circular-grained, bevelled and hand-drawn bridges, bevelled and hand-drawn tourbillon carriage, as well as blued screws.

The white gold Gouverneur Tourbillon features a diamond-set bezel. The entire bezel, both on wider parts and on more narrow parts because the bezel is oval shaped, features a two-row gem-setting. This accentuates the double round and oval shape of the Gouverneur line. The 18K white gold case is set with 128 brilliant-cut diamonds of approximately 1.4 carats.

The caseback shows a small sapphire crystal opening, to reveal the tourbillon carriage. The Piaget Manufacture 642P ultra-thin mechanical  moon phase tourbillon movement features the world’s thinnest shaped tourbillon. The hand-wound movement beats at 21,600 vibrations/hour and has a power reserve of 40 hours.

For information about availability and price we suggest to get in touch with Piaget through their website.

Oliver a.k.a. Small Luxury World, member of The Purist, visited the Piaget Manufacture and wrote an extensive report about it.