- Watch companies rarely let a major (or even a not-so-major) anniversary pass by without fanfare these days, so it was undoubtedly with great anticipation that fans of Parmigiani Fleurier - the high-horology maison founded and still guided creatively by its eponym, master watchmaker and restorer Michel Parmigiani — looked forward to seeing what exceptional timepieces would arise in celebration of its 25th anniversary in 2021. The first, which WatchTime covered in its December 2021 issue, was the Tonda PF collection, launched at last fall's Geneva Watch Days event. Following it up toward the end of the year was a timepiece that not only represents Parmigiani's most ambitious foray into high complication, but also pays tribute to its founder's revered history in watch restoration.
Named La Rose Carrée after the “squared rose pattern that adorns both its case and its movement, the timepiece that Parmigiani has touted as the grand finale” to its 25th anniversary year is a one-of-a-kind pocket watch whose 64mm, white-gold hunter-style case houses a true horological find: a meticulously restored movement created by watchmaking legend Louis-Elisée Piguet sometime between 1898 and 1904 and equipped with both a minute repeater and a grande sonnerie. Michel Parmigiani acquired the rare, grand complication caliber in the late 1990s and stashed it in a drawer, with the intention of applying his own renowned restoration expertise to it - where it then remained for more than 20 years while the Parmigiani Fleurier watch brand grew and thrived. How the historical movement found its way into a modern timepiece is a story on its own, best expressed by Parmigiani Fleurier CEO Guido Terreni, who came aboard right on the cusp of the anniversary year and was instrumental in initiating the project in concert with the company's founder.
Denne historien er fra March/April 2022-utgaven av Watch Time.
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Denne historien er fra March/April 2022-utgaven av Watch Time.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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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.
Return Flight
Longines brings back the famous \"Majetek\" pilot watch from 1935 with a 43-mm case and new bezel system.
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.
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).
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.