Horological Meandering

Parmigiani at SIHH 2010

Parmigiani Fleurier SA are something of a conundrum in the Swiss watch industry. A substantial concern comprising 500 employees, with multiple manufacturing locations spread across half of Switzerland, boasting an impressive degree of vertical integration with the ability (through their various wholly-owned subsidiaries) to design and produce movements, cases, dials, wheels, geartrains, pinions and even tooling for their workshops, Parmigiani is also an ultra-high-end watch brand with lofty ambitions to take its place at the very top.

Behind all of this manufacturing firepower sits an equally solid financial backer in the form of the Sandoz Family Foundation, who provided the seed funding for the establishment of the Parmigiani Fleurier group back in 1996. For some twenty years prior to this, Michel Parmigiani had been head of a highly-respected timepiece restoration workshop which, among other things, was tasked with the duty of restoring and maintaining all of the historic timepieces comprising the Maurice-Yves Sandoz Collection.

In the fourteen years since its establishment, the Parmigiani brand has presented a large number of new in-house movements, of which ten are in current production; some truly stunning and innovative creations, such as the fabled Bugatti wristwatch; and in the process, they have created some 350 new jobs for the industry in Fleurier alone. Their current watch production is spread across no less than twenty different men's and ladies' collections. Any visitor to their Vaucher manufacturing facility in Fleurier will spot movement parts from various other high-end brands sitting on workbenches. Some of these brand names would surprise you. Their dial and case subsidiaries are similarly happy to work for outside clients, Kari Voutilainen (who cut his horological teeth in Parmgiani's restoration workshop) being one notable customer.

And yet, despite all of this industry traction and impressive track record, Parmigiani is not generally thought of as belonging to the top handful of Swiss watch brands. They do not command the incredible brand recognition of Rolex or the reputation for impeccable quality of Patek Philippe; neither do any of their watches provoke the collector hysteria and escalating secondary-market prices of Panerai or the Royal Oak Offshore.

Yet, when one examines the watches themselves, one can easily see that the sheer quality of Parmigiani's cases and dials easily competes with that of Patek; that their movements are superbly designed, executed and finished; and their designs, while often quirky, are also frequently breathtaking. So what gives?

Parmigiani themselves don't appear to be too fussed. They are well aware that their currently perceived position within the industry does not match the reality. I suspect that, simply put, Parmigiani are in no hurry. They make and sell 5000 watches per annum, with plans to slowly increase this output over the next few years, while maintaining and improving their quality. Indeed, Parmigiani have their sights firmly set on the very top: they plan to become a Top Three brand, preferably within the next decade or so.

Can Parmigiani do it? The only opinion I am prepared to proffer is that they do indeed have the potential. Some of the pieces I have seen and handled are truly extraordinary, and their vertical integration strategy places them in the enviable position of being, essentially, beholden to nobody but themselves.

Parmigiani have for SIHH 2010 concentrated on a relatively small number of new releases, With the completion of the 100th and final Bugatti type 370 wristwatch late last year, they have retired this line in favour of a new, more affordable Bugatti tie-in in the form of the Bugatti Atalante Chronographe 43 Fly-back. This model, available in white and rose gold, with or without diamonds, draws design inspiration from the Bugatti Atalante 57S Sport automobile from the 1930s - especially in its radiator-grille dial.

First up: the Bugatti Atalante Chronographe 43 Fly-back in white gold, featuring two tachymetric displays. The bezel-engraved scale allows for the timing of high-speed events, whereas the other on the 30-minute counter is for slower events. There is also a window for the date at 6 o'clock. Note that the chrono pushers are somewhat curiously positioned on the left of the case - supposedly for ease of operation with the thumb; the dial is partially open-worked; and Bugatti's "EB" logo at 6 o'clock symbolises the Parmigiani/Bugatti partnership -

Through the watch's caseback can be seen its PF 335 automatic-winding calibre with 50-hour power reserve from two series-coupled barrels, 28,800vph beat rate, and spectacular 22-carat gold rotor -

Here are the diamond-encrusted versions, in white and rose gold. These are not limited editions -

And here's a rear view of the latter model -

The new "grille" dial with partial open-working is also employed to good effect in this new men's Kalpa model in rose gold, manual-winding with date and power reserve -

The new Kalpa has a particularly beautiful formed movement visible through its display back. To my mind, this movement epitomises all that is good about the Parmigiani brand. Its bridges are beautifully laid out, and the finishing is absolutely world-class, with swan-neck regulator, spectacular Geneva stripes, anglage and perlage in all the right places -

Also new for 2009 is a Tonda Quantième Perpetuel in rose gold with retrograde date. The watch also features apertures for day of week, month and leap-year indicator; another nice touch is the dual moonphase for both northern and southern hemispheres -

I would have liked to bring you photos of the final two Bugatti 370 pieces with engraved cases, as well as the deliciously decorated dial of the Fibonacci pocket watch with minute repeater and perpetual calendar...but these were safely ensconced within display cases and unavailable for photography.

So, instead, I finish with some views of two Pershing chronographs with new dial colours -

Personally I would have preferred an open caseback with a view of the chrono movement, rather than an advert for a boat...but hey, I guess I'm just not a boat person -

©2010 Tony P

As part of their low-key marketing strategy, Parmigiani Fleurier SA continue to sponsor a number of sporting and cultural activities, such as the annual Montreux Jazz Festival (for which they are major sponsor); the Swiss triathlon team; and the forthcoming 32nd Chateau d"Oex International Balloon Festival which will be held in Switzerland in 2010.

The final image is of one of the set of thirteen Parmigiani "Captain's Watches", designed in collaboration with the captains of the thirteen football teams selected to compete in the FIFA World Cup in South Africa this coming June -

A proportion of the CHF60,000 sale price for each of these watches will be donated to a charity of the captain's choice.

Cheers
Tony P

This message has been edited by tony p on 2010-01-30 22:18:56 This message has been edited by tony p on 2010-01-30 22:23:07