Worlds Thinnest Watch

Interesting thread guys, the mechanicals cant really compete with the quartz watches for thinness by their very nature. In the early 80s the race was on between Switzerland and Japan to produce the "worlds thinnest watch", the result was a solid 18ct gold cased watch produced by ETA-commonly known as the Delirium (in fact a model name owned by Concord) only 1.98mm thick .This case was then branded and sold by various Swiss companies Concord, Longines, Sarcar, IWC, Eterna- to name a few. The thinnest i have come across however is the Omega Dinosaure, a hugely expensive quartz just 1.48mm thick. Omega produced a few "collectors" watches even thinner at 1.35mm but these were found to break/bend when worn !!
Heres a few pics of some of mine including my mechanical Piaget (cal P31) just 3mm thick
(measurements are total case thickness not just movement)
Omega Dinosaure 1.48mm (pound coin each side)

Sarcar Gloriums 1.98mm

Sarcar (side view)

Longines "Golden Leaf"

Piaget "Tradition" mechanical 3mm

Concord "Delirium" as retailed by Tiffany in the 80s

Watchbreath said:

How thick was the final product?

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Measuring by eye (and with a plastic ruler), mine comes in at about 6mm including the crystal. But the crystal might not be the original - its a bit more domed than necessaery.

I was browsing this old thread and thought i'd post what i consider IS "the worlds thinnest watch"-the definitive answer, though it would be great if someone proved me wrong

Concord Delirium IV-toal case thickness 0.98mm
As a fellow collector put it "like wearing a piece of bog-roll that tells the time" :-d

Here are two from the Zenith catalogue year 2000.

1) Elite auto, winding in both directions, height: 3.28 mm.


2) Manual Elite HW movement: 2.83 mm.

Watchbreath said:

3.28, is that the caliber or the case?

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Calibre.

Here is a pic of the case thickness. More of a dress diver, this one.

Hi guys,

I recently made acquisition of 2 watches well known for their thin cases and just would like to share with you few pictures that I just took of it.

On the first hand, there is a Concord Delirium with manual winding movement in platinum case.

This watch is one of the ninety seven produced in 1997 by Concord to celebrate the Hong Kong handover, which explains the special engravings of the case back design.

It is not the thinnest delirium around but probably the thinnest to include a manual winding movement, which is besides very nicely decorated.

The movement is very accurate and the feeling of the watch on my wrist is excellent. The contrast between the extravagant case back and the very simple dial is also something which I appreciated very much.

Concerning the platinum case, I have to say I am very pleased because it would not scratch as easily as gold would do and it feels also much more special. It is useless to say however that considering the caliber of the watch I am not planning to wear it on an everyday basis.

On the second hand, I just bought this Swatch Jelly Skin dated 1998. As it is very common to hear that Swatch Skin was inspired by Concord Delirium I found pleasant to put both together.

Obviously there is no competition between those watches;not only because one is quartz movement and the other one is manual winding but also due to the gap between the level of quality of each time piece.

Nevertheless, the Jelly Skin is also interesting because it gives a better idea on how all the Skin series were made.

I hope you enjoy the pics.

Cheers,

DK

I remembered coming across this small article a while back, about the Concord Delirium and the arms race that watch companies had in the 70's to develop the thinnest wristwatch:

http://www.capetowncorp.com/whatsnew/concordarticle.html

The trick to the Delirium is in last paragraph:
"The chief reason the Delirium was so skinny was that the movement had no main plate. Instead, the watch components were fitted into the case back. It was an ingenious idea, one ETA used later when it designed the Swatch."
And the best part:
"....the Delirium IV, was an amazing .98mm thick, so delicate it could not be worn because the case would bend when you strapped the watch to your wrist."
So ETA won the thin wristwatch wars by making a watch that couldn't actually be worn!
:-d
Maybe I'm wrong, but I remember reading somewhere that, like the Delirium IV, some of the watches with the Poljot 2200 were so thin that they could be easily damaged because the case would flex while being strapped on.

I have 3 Luch watches with Poljot 2209 movements-- the machinery was transfered from Poljot to the Luch factory in 1975, I believe.
They all use the same classic case: the watches are about 7mm thick-- but 3mm of that is the domed crystal.

obsidian said:

"....the Delirium IV, was an amazing .98mm thick, so delicate it could not be worn because the case would bend when you strapped the watch to your wrist."
So ETA won the thin wristwatch wars by making a watch that couldn't actually be worn!
:-d

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Unlike the Titan Edge currently in production, which with a 3ATM water resistance, steel case and sapphire crystal (probably to stiffen the case :-x) probably makes it the thinnest practical watch of all time.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I remember reading somewhere that, like the Delirium IV, some of the watches with the Poljot 2200 were so thin that they could be easily damaged because the case would flex while being strapped on.

Click to expand...

Maybe this is why Mark Gordon's 2200 is the only one known to still exist.



1.85mm movement height


3.5mm case height


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