The Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Hémisphères Rétrograde won the Travel Watch Award at the 2017 Geneva Grand Prix for Watchmaking (GPHG2017). WatchTime was lucky enough to have the opportunity to wear the Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Hémisphères Rétrograde and take a tour of the workshops that made it—the five companies that make up the Parmigiani Watchmaking Center.
This time, we will be looking at exteriors from these five companies.
・Cases made by Les Artisans Boitiers (LAB)
・Dial production "Cadrans et Abiage"
We will introduce these two companies. The remaining three companies will be covered in "How Luxury Watches are Manufactured: The Five Ateliers Supporting Parmigiani Fleurier (Movement Edition)."
http://www.webchronos.net/features/37951/
Text by Mark Bernardo
The two companies behind Parmigiani Fleurier's exteriors
Winner of the Travel Watch Award at GPHG2017. Automatic movement (Cal. PF317). 28 jewels. 28,800 vph. Power reserve approximately 50 hours. 18KRG (diameter 42.8mm, thickness 11.9mm). Water resistant to 30m. Price: 3.1 million yen (excluding tax).
Vertically integrated manufacture
At WatchTime, we handle watches and visit many watch factories and workshops to write our articles, but it is extremely rare to have the opportunity to actually wear a GPHG-winning timepiece, which is considered the Oscar of watchmaking, and then visit Switzerland and interview a workshop that reveals all the different aspects of the award.
Fortunately, I had just such an opportunity right after Baselworld 2019. I was given the opportunity to wear the Toric Hémisphères Retrograde on a tour of Parmigiani Fleurier, a brand founded by Michel Parmigiani in 1996.
This tour took us to the five affiliated companies that were brought together in the relatively short space of 20 years by the Sandoz Family Foundation to transform Parmigiani Fleurier into a vertically integrated manufacture. Together with the Parmigiani Fleurier headquarters, these six companies are known as the Parmigiani Watchmaking Centre.
Golden Rule Tricks Hemisphere Retrograde
The Trick was introduced as Parmigiani Fleurier's first collection. It was dropped from the catalog for a while, but was revived in 2017 with the Trick Chronometer, and is now one of the company's core collections.
The design of the model worn this time, the Toric Hémisphères Retrograde, comes from the first wristwatch designed by Michel Parmigiani, who began his career as a restorer of antique watches.
The golden rule that is essential to Michel Parmigiani's watch designs, as he was an aspiring architect, can also be seen in the 18K rose gold case of the Toric Hémisphères Retrograde.
The elegantly knurled bezel is reminiscent of Roman and Greek columns, and the 42.8mm case features a gleaming polished finish accenting the ergonomically curved surfaces that lead to angled teardrop-shaped lugs and a strap that conforms to the curves of the wrist.
