Passion, Purity And Precision
Watch Time|November/December 2021
In 1996, master watchmaker Michel Parmigiani’s dedication to horology resulted in the launch of a new watch brand with a new credo and new aesthetics. The new Tonda PF collection is both an homage to Parmigiani Fleurier’s design aesthetics, and also the maison’s most forward-looking collection to date.
Passion, Purity And Precision

– Parmigiani Fleurier was born out of Michel Parmigiani's passion for watchmaking, classical culture, the observation of nature, and his vast experience in restoring the world's most sophisticated timepieces and automata. “I embarked on my entrepreneurial adventure in 1976 when the quartz crisis was ravaging the watchmaking industry. I remember feeling a bit like a pariah, starting this adventure against all advice. Restoring antique timepieces saved me from nihilism. Working, as I was during this period, on so many wonders from times gone by, made the idea that traditional watchmaking might disappear absolutely unthinkable to me. He and his main client, the Sandoz family, owner of a peerless watch and clock collection, decided to take his unique knowledge and expertise and put it to new use. Parmigiani says, Restoration gave me the confidence I needed to pursue my watchmaking dreams, despite the naysayers. On May 29, 1996, in the Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne, Switzerland, the watchmaking founding acts of the Parmigiani Fleurier brand took place. A total of 52 timepieces were introduced, ranging from simple to the highly complicated, and including the visionary Toric Perpetual Calendar Retrograde. The bar was set, high, and for 25 years now, Parmigiani Fleurier has created several timepiece collections, ranging from sport-chic to classical, from slim to highly complicated while staying true to its original ethos: imperceptible refinement, entire dedication to exclusivity, modern permanence, in the maison's own words.

This story is from the November/December 2021 edition of Watch Time.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the November/December 2021 edition of Watch Time.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM WATCH TIMEView All
Mirror of Civilizations
WatchTime

Mirror of Civilizations

With the new Tonda PF Xiali Calendar (Ref. PFH982-1022301100182), Parmigiani Fleurier celebrates the Chinese New Year (Jan. 22, 2023) with a world premiere: a Chinese complete calendar that is covering a period of 12 years. This model follows the maison's earlier Gregorian Annual Calendar and the Tonda Hijri Perpetual Calendar, or Muslim calendar, a feat of miniaturization that was awarded the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) in the Innovation category in 2020.

time-read
6 mins  |
March - April 2023
Return Flight
WatchTime

Return Flight

Longines brings back the famous \"Majetek\" pilot watch from 1935 with a 43-mm case and new bezel system.

time-read
2 mins  |
March - April 2023
Black Capsule
WatchTime

Black Capsule

On January 31, Carl F. Bucherer unveiled five new versions of some of its most popular models in a different cosmopolitan city on the same day - each city having played an important role for the three generations of the Bucherer family over the past 135 years.

time-read
1 min  |
March - April 2023
Touchdown in Le Locle
WatchTime

Touchdown in Le Locle

Aaron Charles Rodgers (born Dec. 2, 1983) is a quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL).

time-read
8 mins  |
September/October 2022
Flat Floor
WatchTime

Flat Floor

Just three months after Bulgari had unveiled the world's latest thinnest watch, the 1.8-mm Octo Finissimo Ultra (Ref. 103611), Richard Mille set a new world record with the RM UP-01 Ferrari (in 2021, Ferrari and Richard Mille had announced a multi-year partnership agreement).

time-read
1 min  |
September/October 2022
Tourbillon Waltz
WatchTime

Tourbillon Waltz

On June 26, 1801, Abraham-Louis Breguet (Jan. 10, 1747 Sept. 17, 1823) was granted a patent for a new type of regulator.

time-read
1 min  |
September/October 2022
Tudor's Tool Watch Is Back
WatchTime

Tudor's Tool Watch Is Back

Two years ago, Tudor started to quietly decommission its ETApowered Heritage Ranger from 2014, perhaps one of its most quintessential time-only models that had first appeared in the collection in the 1960s.

time-read
1 min  |
September/October 2022
License To Dive
WatchTime

License To Dive

Underwater explorers and frogmen play as prominent a role in the history of Omega's dive watches as do the seahorse and the world's most famous secret agent.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September/October 2022
HEART-STOPPING MOMENTS
WatchTime

HEART-STOPPING MOMENTS

The TAG Heuer Autavia embodies the excitement of 1960s motorsports and the optimism of the time. The new 2022 models reflect the Autavia's beginnings as a cockpit instrument and build on this history.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September/October 2022
The Lasting Influence of The Nineties
WatchTime

The Lasting Influence of The Nineties

A look back at the decade that saw an industry recover from crisis and steady itself at the cusp of a new millennium.

time-read
10 mins  |
September/October 2022