Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Piaget · Altiplano
Piaget Altiplano 38 mm Skeletonised Grade
Reference 96697OR.28
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Piaget
- Collection
- Altiplano
- Model
- Piaget Altiplano 38 mm Skeletonised Grade
- Reference number
- 96697OR.28
- Year / era
- 1951 · 1950s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Chronograph
- Movement
- In-house automatic chronograph
- Case material
- Grade 5 titanium
- Dial type
- Skeletonised
- Strap / bracelet
- NATO textile strap
- Water resistance
- 200 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 38 mm
- Case thickness
- 9.4 mm
- Case material
- Grade 5 titanium
- Bezel
- Smooth polished
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Skeletonised
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Diamond-set hour markers
- Bracelet / strap
- NATO textile strap
- Clasp / buckle
- Folding clasp in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 200 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 84B — In-house automatic chronograph
- Movement type
- Automatic with micro-rotor
- Frequency
- 25,200 vph (3.5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 55 hours
- Number of jewels
- 37 jewels
- Complications
- Chronograph
- Functions
- Hours, minutes, seconds, date
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1951 – 1959
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Values have stabilised after the 2022 correction; condition and box-and-papers drive the premium.
Designer
Jörg Hysek
Jörg Hysek left Rolex and Seiko's European studios to build a design practice in Geneva, giving houses such as Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, Seiko and TAG Heuer their sculptural, architecture-led cases before founding his own brand, HD3.
Historical significance
Piaget Altiplano 38 mm Skeletonised Grade sits within Piaget's Altiplano line, introduced in 1951. It carries the house codes established since 1874 — grade 5 titanium case, skeletonised dial and in-house automatic chronograph — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
The House
Piaget
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1874
- Founder
- Georges-Édouard Piaget
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Luxury
- Major collections
- Polo, Altiplano, Limelight Gala, Possession, Piaget Andy Warhol
- Signature technologies
- In-house hairspring production · Certified chronometer regulation · Proprietary case-hardening and polishing
- Famous movements
- In-house automatic, Superlative Chronometer · In-house automatic chronograph · In-house manual-winding · In-house automatic, chronometer certified
- Notable watches
- Piaget Polo 41 mm Salmon 18k (1988) · Piaget Polo 36 mm Salmon 18k (1974) · Piaget Polo 39 mm Black Ceramic (1970) · Piaget Polo 41 mm Ice Grade (1977)
Brand history
Piaget has spent more than 152 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Polo, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Georges-Édouard Piaget established Piaget in 1874, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Piaget calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1874
Georges-Édouard Piaget founds Piaget in Switzerland.
1899
Piaget earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Piaget to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Piaget enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Piaget continues to produce Polo, Altiplano, Limelight Gala and other icons in limited numbers.