Parmigiani Fleurier Watches

Parmigiani Fleurier is a luxury watch manufacturing brand established in 1996. The brand is the epitome of the intricacy and the craftsmanship of the founder, Michael Parmigiani. This Swiss brand of hand-crafted watches is immensely popular around the globe. The exceptional timepieces manufactured by Parmigiani Fleurier represent the perfect integration of artisanal intricacy with ingenious creativity. They started from a small restoration workshop. A number of in-house collections of watches have been released by them. These collections have exceptional timepieces delicately designed for both men and women. Designs of Parmigiani never fail to baffle the world of horology with its keen details and extreme complexity.

Introduction

Parmigiani Fleurier is renowned for the exclusivity of its products as a limited number of products are launched in each collection each year. These premium designs are crafted using various materials including gold, titanium, and stainless steel. Owing to the expertise of the founder Michael Parmigiani, in the field of horology and top-notch innovations, the brand has a number of gems studded in their bracelet of achievements. Bugatti 370 is a remarkable gem besides others. In 2006, Bugatti 370 won the 'watch of the year' title given by the Japanese Press.

The headquarters of Parmigiani Fleurier is situated at Fleurier, Switzerland. They solely manufacture the basic parts of the watches and have five sister firms that provide the rest of the parts like cases, dials, regulating components, straps, etc.

The journey of Parmigianino Fleurier started from a vintage watch restoration workshop. The origin story of the brand is quite interesting.

The founder Michael Parmigiani was born in the Couvet in the Canton of Neuchâtel. After learning the art of horology from Val-de-Travers and the La Chaux-de-Fonds schools of watchmaking, he sharpened his skills by restoring antique timepieces and related historical artifacts. He started his vintage watch restoration workshop in 1976.

He used to reshape the traditional watches and sometimes took the liberty of creating intricate timepieces. Parmigiani worked with museums and restored precious watches of history. His work spoke for itself. Soon he became a well-known restorer and craftsman in the field of horology.

Sandoz Family Foundation owns a large collection of horology artifacts. Michael Parmigiani started working for them as a restorer in the 1980s. This former employer of his saw the potential in him and encouraged Parmigiani to build his own brand. With the cooperation and trust of the Sandoz Family Foundation, Parmigiani Fleurier was launched as a brand in 1996. The inauguration ceremony was held in Beau-Rivage Palace, Lausanne, and the saga of redefining the art of high-end watchmaking began.

Journey of Parmigiani Fleurier as a brand

Michael Parmigiani's expertise and exceptional ideas helped Parmigiani Fleurier to become a prestigious brand of high-end timepieces within a short span of time. 'Toric' was released as the inaugural collection of the brand. To become self-sufficient and ensure the quality standards of luxury watch cases set by Parmigiani, Sandoz Family Foundation acquired Les Artisans Boîtiers. Eventually, they also acquired Atokalpa, a manufacturer of regulating components, and Elwin, a manufacturer of micromechanical components.

• In partnership with Bovet and Chopard, Parmigiani Fleurier launched Fleurier Quality Foundation in 2004.
• In partnership with Bugatti, Parmigiani launched the first-ever watch having an extremely complex three-dimensional mechanical caliber - the extraordinary Bugatti 370 watch.
• Quadrance & Habillage was established for manufacturing premium dials - they helped with the brand expansion of Fleurier.
• The brand's first ultra-slim watch collection Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda 1950 was launched in 2011 to mark the 60th birthday of the founder of the brand.

All the watches from the brand of Michael Parmigiani are delicately hand-crafted based on the golden ratio. The keen details and divine aesthetics of Parmigiani are incorporated in every timepiece created by the brand.

The remarkable designs of Michael Parmigiani have set the bar of complexity in horology designs pretty high. The brand has delicately curated collections for both men and women. Exceptional collections launched by Parmigiani Fleurier include the Bugatti collection, Tonda series, Toric, Ovale and Kalpa collections. The timepieces offered by the brand range from simplistic designs meant for purists to ultra-complex models having unique movement calibers.

Toric

Toric is the debut collection of premium watches by Parmigiani Fleurier launched in the inaugural year 1996. The distinct case model of this collection that draws inspiration from the Greek columns later became the signature design of the luxury watch brand. The bezel of this model is highlighted due to the presence of alternating gadroons and knurling.

The Bugatti Collection

This renowned collection was born on account of the partnership signed between Parmigiani Fleurier and Bugatti in 2004. For designing the watch that won the title of 'watch of the year' in 2006, the brand developed the caliber PF370 having vertical three-dimensional movement. Bugatti 370 timepiece is a miracle of automotive technology. The design of this watch was inspired by the transverse engine of the Bugatti Veyron supercar. Subsequently, the collection featured more timepieces inspired by distinct models of Bugatti cars.

Tonda Series

Tonda series includes a number of collections having round cases. The name of the series is given based on the Italian word tondo which means round.

Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda 1950 collection was released on the 60th birth anniversary of the founder of the brand. The name of this collection represents the birth year of Michael Parmigiani. This collection released in 2011 includes watches having ultra-thin designs.

Other remarkable collections in the Tonda series are Tonda GT, Tondagraph, Tonda Chronor, Tonda Métrographe, etc. Among these Tonda GT and Tondagraph GT are high-end sports watch collections launched in 2020. Tonda Chronor of 2016 has the brand's first integrated chronograph.

Kalpa

The designs of the Kalpa collection are based on the Fibonacci sequence found in nature and the usual golden ratio used in every product designed by Parmigiani. This collection includes both manual and self-winding models of watches.

Ovale

This collection features wristwatches having oval-shaped cases. The designs included in this collection are inspired by a restored pocket watch. This antique pocket watch was restored by Michael Parmigiani in 1997. Ovale collection connects the brand of Parmigiani with its roots.

The restoration workshop of the founder is renowned for the exceptional quality of its work in the renovation and preservation of antique timepieces. Parmigiani Fleurier is known for the harmonious aesthetics of its timepieces relying on the golden ratio and top-notch designs of Michael Parmigiani.