Luxury Watch Collection: Patience & Acquisition

jlux · 2022-07-05T09:05:49Z

Explore the Parmigiani Fleurier Ovale Pantographe with telescopic hands. jlux shares his 10-year journey to acquire this unique timepiece and reviews its design, movement, and the brand's evolution.

jlux

WPS member · Horological Meandering forum

21 replies3246 views9 photos

Gerard (jlux) shares his decade-long pursuit of the Parmigiani Fleurier Ovale Pantographe, a watch that captivated him with its unique design and horological innovation. His detailed review highlights the telescopic hands, distinctive case, and exceptional movement finishing, offering a personal perspective on what makes this reference truly special. Gerard also provides a candid assessment of Parmigiani Fleurier's past market strategies and expresses optimism for the brand's future direction under new leadership.

...or the arrival of the Parmigiani Fleurier Ovale Pantographe.

Turning back time about 10 years I was being shown a watch at an exhibition that completely blew me away : the PF Ovale Pantographe !

The telescopic hands,the dial lay-out,the unusual case shape and the superb movement won me over in a heartbeat.

Time was passing and many watches came and went but the memories about that watch continued coming in waves.

I finally gave in and decided to actively hunt the watch.Now,not too many of those have ever been made and the few being offered most often did not meet my criteria in terms of pricing,condition,location,...

Up until recently when I discovered the watch at a reputable seller where all my conditions were met and now it has become a proud member of my collection.

This must be one of the most unique case designs ...ever!

The star of the show are of course the telescopic hands. Just one word : mesmerizing!

The typical PF lugs add character to the watch and help the ergonomy on the wrist.

The 111 movement finishing is at an impressive level with all these many perfectly executed inward angles. And the 7 day power reserve is also a great plus.

This certainly is at Lange level ...or better (?).

And a shot on my 17cm wrist : certainly not a shy watch but extremely comfortable due to the case and lug shapes.

Finally a few words on the brand Parmigiani Fleurier which I like and for which I have a lot of respect.

BUT , many mistakes have been done in the past with a kind of "try and error" approach to the market and,above all, missing consistency in many fields including design and marketing.

We saw many fantastic watches but also design monstrosities like the Pershing models, nouveau-rich design Kalpa's and even the attempt for entry level steel models.I guess it was not very clear to themselves what kind of brand they wanted to be!

Then they did a very poor job controlling the distribution of their watches with way too many brand new pieces landing directly at the grey market with huge 30-40% discounts : that is of course a deadly sin for a luxury brand and the safest way to lose customer interest and loyalty!!

I do however now see a big change for the better under the leadership of the new CEO Guido Terreni:they have drastically reduced the number of SKU's with a strong concentration on the new Tonda PF.They have also strongly reduced the number of selling points working with strong partners.And they seem to work on a stronger consistency in the message to the final customers.

I certainly wish them all the best for the future and can see myself integrating one of these very nice Tonda PF's into my collection in the near future,

Thanks for looking and reading,

Gerard

Key Points from the Discussion

The telescopic hands of the Ovale Pantographe represent an extraordinary feat of engineering, pushing the boundaries of what's considered possible in watchmaking.
While the Pantographe is a very special watch, owners should be mindful of strong impacts like clapping hands, as the G-forces can be severe on the delicate telescopic hands and movement, despite PF's efforts to enhance robustness.
The movement finishing, particularly the numerous perfectly executed inward angles, demonstrates a level of craftsmanship that rivals or even surpasses top-tier brands like A. Lange & Söhne.
Many collectors agree with Gerard's assessment of Parmigiani Fleurier's past market inconsistencies, including design variations and distribution challenges, but acknowledge the brand's capacity for creating horological marvels.
The Ovale Pantographe stands out as a truly unique piece that brings something genuinely different to a collection, with no direct peers in its design and execution.
The new CEO, Guido Terreni, is seen as a positive force, implementing strategic changes like reducing SKUs, focusing on the Tonda PF, and streamlining distribution to strengthen brand consistency and market position.

The Discussion

christianch

Jul 5, 2022

An amazing watch and very unique ! 👏

andrea~

Jul 5, 2022

The hands give this watch an undeniable cool factor.

TeutonicCarFan

Jul 5, 2022

It seems they went out of the way to add inward angles, whereas many would have just extended the plate to smooth it out. Top quality craftsmanship.

mrds

Jul 5, 2022

These hands are just insane. It seems the concept behind this watch was, let’s find something impossible to make, and then make it. The result is wonderful. As a huge fan of PF, I agree 100% with what you wrote about the brand and its challenges. It was not always easy to remain loyal to them, seeing how they acted in the market at times. But then, there are these watches coming from them, pure marvels that could not have been conceived by any other brand… The signs from the new CEO are positive

Blansky

Jul 5, 2022

it's one of those watches that are just toooo distracting.

patrick_y

Jul 5, 2022

Having met the Pantographe before, I have to say, it's a very special watch. Some unsolicited advice: don't clap your hands. The G-forces on the movement and especially the hour/minute hands are quite severe when you clap your hands. PF has accounted for this and have tried to make the hands more robust, but if you can remember to avoid clapping your hands it'd be better. This is definitely an amazing piece.

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Luxury Watch Collection: Patience & Acquisition

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