Battle of the Ultra-Thin Watches

Watchmaking’s Most Highly Contended Category

The term “less is more” does not always apply to the world of boundary pushing cutting-edge watchmaking, as on one side of the coin, brands love cramming in one complication after the next into as little space as possible. On the flip side, it is entirely fitting when discussing the realm of the ultrathin category–a space that a few brands in particular are taking very seriously. Slimming down cases to a modest count of millimeters is a daunting task, and one that requires absolute precision and skill. As you trim material you lose strength, and with the wristwatch being meant to be worn and in motion at all times, there’s eventually a threshold that (at least in theory) cannot be crossed. Rather than simply focusing on the record breakers here, we’re going to take a skim through some of the more important pieces with slender profiles across a diverse pricing scale.

The Best Entry Point

At the more approachable end of the spectrum in ultrathin watchmaking, there are two contenders that immediately come to mind–the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic, and the Drive De Cartier Extra Flat in steel. Priced from $12,800 and $5,600 respectively, there’s a lot that differentiates these two supremely svelte timekeepers, and frankly a lot I love about both. Looking at the Bulgari, its wafer-thin case is made of blasted titanium, making it incredibly light on the wrist. Though it’s also available on a leather strap, the integrated bracelet is an absolute home run, as its slender profile matches the case perfectly, and some clever engineering of its bracelet and clasp means that it doesn’t get bulky on the inside of your wrist as well. At 40mm (on paper) it doesn’t seem that big, but its square-ish shape and broad bracelet give it some pretty serious wrist presence.

When I first met the Drive De Cartier Extra Flat in steel, I was sold instantly. Its dial, hands, case shape, and profile all spoke my language, and while it isn’t quite as slender as the Bulgari (6.6mm versus 5.15), it is by no means half the watch given that it retails for half the price. You don’t get titanium, you don’t get an exhibition caseback, you don’t get a funky bracelet, and you don’t get the sleek micro-rotor automatic caliber of the Bulgari, but you do get a very stylish, versatile, and compact 39mm piece that runs a modified version of the Piaget 430P hand wound movement.

The “Midrange” Contenders

Stepping further up the food chain yields even more interesting competition to consider, and it doesn’t take a huge leap to get there either. For $26,500, the Piaget Altiplano 900P is the 23rd ultrathin caliber from the brand thus far, this thing is only 3.65mm thin, making it the second thinnest mechanical wristwatch that’s in the market next to the odd and rare JLC Master Ultra-Thin Squelette at 3.60mm. In the same collection it is also flanked by the 910P, which at 4.30mm briefly dethroned the Octo Finissimo Auto as the world’s thinnest automatic watch this past year (more on that in a second). The level of thoughtfulness in engineering and design is without compare when working on calibers like this. With gears as thin as 0.12mm thick, and having to lower the handset below its uppermost bridges to avoid contact between its crystal and handset, what many don’t necessarily consider is the challenge of building something this slender that can survive day-to-day life and wear.

Launching much further up the price spectrum we go back to Bulgari, and a watch that launched in 2018 and holds three world records in a single watch. Bulgari and Piaget have been battling it out for record titles for a while now, and as part of their exchange of blows, Bulgari not only reclaimed the world’s thinnest automatic watch title, but also the titles of and thinnest automatic tourbillon watch. It measures 3.95mm thick, and can be had in a blasted titanium case if you’re gunning for a record breaker (priced at $118,000), but earlier this year a carbon cased variant was also launched, though to make the material work its case size had to thicken to 5.38

Recognized for their sleek design, classic aesthetics, and an exceptional array of complications, the Master Ultra-Thin collection by Jaeger-LeCoultre boasts discreet case profiles throughout the line. While not all have earned record breaking marks, these watches are svelte options for those seeking entry to the ultra-thin club.

The Concept Craziness

The above is already a lot to digest when it comes to ultrathin watchmaking, it doesn’t end there. There are two watches that both unveiled in 2018 that we are eagerly anticipating news of their migration to production–fingers crossed. First, the Audemars Piguet RD#2 Perpetual Calendar blows its next thinnest competition out of the water with a 2.89mm movement and 6.30mm overall case thickness. The next closest perpetual clocks in at 3.89 and 8.10mm, but beyond that, the fact that it comes in thinner than the hand-wound Cartier at the entry level of the category, but with a perpetual calendar complication and automatic winding? Kinda crazy, right?

The other jaw dropper brings us back to Piaget, with a concept watch that couldn’t come across as anything other than a giant middle finger pointed towards Bulgari’s R&D team. They didn’t just trim a few decimal places of millimeters off an existing record. They took 1.95mm off of Bulgari’s thinnest watch, and 1.6mm off of the thinnest mechanical watch record. The Altiplano Ultimate is 2mm thick. Total. Whether it would ever come into production is still a bit of a question, but the fact that they turned to their competition and basically said “if you come for our records, here’s how far we can go” is about as gutsy of a power play as we’ve seen in the industry in as far back as I can remember.

SHOP ALL ULTRA-THIN WATCHES