Horological Meandering

patrick_y
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SIHH 2017: Parmigiani Fleurier’s Value Proposition a Tonda 1950 Steel Review

PuristSPro reviews the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda 1950 Steel.  With a highly decorated movement, automatic with micro-rotor, a thoughtful adjustable deployant clasp, and a suggested price of lower than 10,000CHF, could this be the best value on the market yet?  PuristSPro moderator Patrick_y gives you his insight in one of his favorites at this year's SIHH 2017. 

THE SETTING

Over the past several years the prices of Swiss made Haute Horlogerie timepieces have increased a tremendous percentage.  Anyone who’s monitored the price of a simple Patek Philippe Calatrava over the past ten years will notice it nearly doubled at one point in some markets.  Some of that increase was attributed to the cost of gold, the increased cost of labor, real estate, and other inputs.  But most of it can be attributed to an economic model called supply and demand; due to the rise of Chinese consumerism in haute horlogerie there was a shortage of high quality timepieces and thus watch company executives took advantage of their favorable fiduciary advantage by increasing prices, revenues, and ultimately profits.  That model worked for a few years until the Chinese market slowed due to two reasons; first, saturation of the market; and second, the new anti-corruption laws that promised harsh sentences to government officials receiving influential gifts.  Over the past couple years, the Swiss watch industry has been in the doldrums; Swiss watch exports have fallen tremendous double digit percentages, and vendors have been forced to buy back inventory from struggling retailers.  In the meanwhile, attrition continues on another front; Apple has taken a huge percentage of marketshare and is supposedly now one of the largest watch brands in the world (Apple claims to be among the top two in revenue).  At the same time, Swiss watches were becoming less relevant and obsolete as Millennials often don't even wear a watch. 

 
A watch is the entreé of every man's accessories wardrobe. 

WHAT CONSUMERS WANT

As a follower of the watch industry, I've advised many companies to adapt to the industry and leverage their existing brand equity to create a value-oriented timepiece.  However the industry never listens, here’s a black/white case: despite the fact a large percentage of customers tell the brands that we generally prefer deployant buckles on our watches, the brands remain in stubborn refusal to listen to this empirical market research. 

          Market research studies showed consumers wanted: watches in steel or other non-precious metal, with high quality movements that showed savoir faire and a high level of finishing throughout, models that were modern in size and “clean and crisp” designs, and all from a highly-regarded brand that had a reputation for making top quality watches but at a more accessible price. 

          Unfortunately, consumer demands fell mostly upon deaf ears.  Watch brands, like dinosaurs, continue the antiquated thought process of retaining their exclusivity to the point of extinction by creating watches that fit a picture-perfect marketable image that simply doesn’t fit in the typical consumer’s reality nor lifestyle. 

ENTER PROTAGONIST

Parmigiani Fleurier, an independent and privately held watch manufacturer, enjoys having just a very few clients and welcoming even fewer new clients into its exclusive family every year.  The Sandoz Family Foundation, which owns and operates Parmigiani Fleurier, is more concerned about preserving the art form of Haute Horlogerie than anything else and is appropriately charged with maintaining many of the vintage watches, clocks, and automatons in the Patek Philippe museum, it’s largest single client. 

Bugatti Automobiles makes some of the world’s most technological and advanced vehicles the world has ever seen.  As a creator of automobile art, when Bugatti decided to choose its own accessories partner they chose to contact Michel Parmigiani and Roland Iten; two tip-of-the-tongue names familiar among the billionaire jet-set. 

But Parmigiani Fleurier knew this reality was a rarified one, and even Bugatti-driving billionaires donning Roland Iten belt buckles usually had a day job and a need for a normal watch and there's another segment of the population that aren't Bugatti drivers too.  Somehow, someone in this privately held independent watch company somehow decided to actually make a practical watch for the normal person.  They looked back at empirical market research, found out what people wanted, and created a watch with a passionate vision that didn't overlook practicality.  Enter our protagonist, the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda 1950 in steel! 

THE WATCH

The press are a fickle bunch, during SIHH we are bombarded with technical data by watch-manufacture spokespeople with heavy accents as they quickly move from one model to the next in quick presentations.  Most press writers themselves also find these objects to be incredibly expensive and unaffordable (the press generally can't afford the luxury watches they're writing about), so no press attendee looks at a $1 million US Dollar Greubel Forsey with a personal interest nor perspective. 

It’s no longer looking, it’s gawking. 

When I first saw the Tonda 1950 in steel I was impressed; great appearance, generous diameter with a proportionate movement, well finished micro-rotor automatic movement, deployant buckle with on-the-fly micro adjustment, and more, it was clear that someone had listened to the consumer focus group studies. 

The deployant was simple but well made.  With two buttons used to activate the release mechanism. 
 
The buckle also had a precision adjustment system that could lengthen the strap in about 1.3MM increments in a few positions!  Here it is, fully extended...

 
...And here it is fully closed. 

The locking mechanism of the micro adjustment system; green means it's open and adjustable. 

 
And red indicates the position is locked and not adjustable. 

The movement is virtually identical as the one used in the solid gold Tonda models.  The gold models enjoy a platinum rotor while the steel model gets a tungsten rotor.  The Tonda offers high movement finishing equivalent to a Calatrava or Patrimony model.  Moreover, the movement seems less generic and more specific since it fully fills the case, unlike some competitor models that exhibit Tyrannosaurus Rex syndrome (big body but short arms) by having giant cases and tiny movements. 

          Over the course of a week, I had no issues with the power reserve, as it seemed to be realizing it’s full potential and winding fairly efficiently.  The efficient winding isn’t always perfect among micro-rotored movements, anyone with a Patek Philippe 240 caliber will notice that sometimes the watch doesn’t always build up its power reserve fully even after a full day of being on your feet. 

          No fault can be found with the accuracy, as the watch seemed to have no major accuracy deviations.  I averaged less than two seconds fast a day in accuracy deviations. 

          The most important thing is that this watch is an automatic and has a fairly sized crown.  Unlike the 215-PS movement from Patek Philippe's 5196 and 5119 models, you don't get distressed finger tips from winding those usually tiny crowns. 

Internal Designation: Movement PF-702
Well finished, and a big movement encompassing 13.25 lines (diameter of 30MM) fills up this case of 40MM. 
The movement is only 2.6MM high, similar to the Piaget and Patek Philippe micro-rotored movements. 
It boasts a powerful mainspring that stores 48 hours, a total of 160 individual components, and 29 jewels. 
Frequency of 3Hz, 21,600 A/h. 
Over the course of a week, the Tonda 1950 was very accurate, gaining on average less than 2 seconds a day! 


 
The strap is machine stitched and solidly made of a nice black matte alligator leather with large rectangular scales.  It's not as supple as typical Parmigiani timepieces with the beautifully hand stitched Hermes leather straps.  However, it's a strap that is practical, in character, and should last a long time.  Do note, the strap is a little long and wide for such a watch.  The width helps spread the weight more evenly.  But the standard length strap is so long that those with small wrists will find that they’re using first hole.  If you have a wrist smaller than 7 inches in circumference, definitely opt for the short strap.  Schwarzenegger-type wrists can stick with the standard one and be fine.  

The 40mm steel case has a thickness of just 8.2mm, a thin profile, enabling the watch to fit under tailored French cuff shirts.  The sapphire glass is anti-reflective.  The lugs protrude outwards less than average, making the watch wear a little smaller than a typical 40mm case.  It only serves up 30M water resistance, meaning that you can wash your hands and walk out in the rain, but don't shower nor swim with the watch.  You've got a leather strap anyways, so I don't think you'll plan on getting it wet anyways. 

The dial is also silver colored with an opaline texture.  It boasts a symmetrical standard design that has a very classic feel, yet the 40mm size makes the watch appear modern and current.  Parmigiani's razor sharp Delta hands are filled with luminous material, so you can tell the time in low light.  There's also a black face version that I find striking and definitive!  The black dial also has a modern sporty elegance to it.  Definitely, both pieces are worth considering.  I hope that Parmigiani will find a shade of grey to work out as a potential third dial option, maybe a grey sunburst dial? 

Perhaps the part that surprised me most was that the watch was recognized.  While enjoying a luncheon and wine tasting at an expensive vineyard in Sonoma, a gentleman asked to see my watch and asked if it was a "Parmigiani."  Delighted and surprised, I explained it was the latest steel Parmigiani from the 2017 SIHH show.  The watch aficionado revealed he owned many timepieces, among them two Parmigiani timepieces whom he considered among the best in his collection.  He resolved to wear one of them to the next vineyard tasting and luncheon. 

Final Thoughts

It’s rare to see a watch company that actually listened to consumer wants and needs.  Even some of the oldest and most highly regarded brands screw up one of these key areas; the clasp, the crown (tiny crowns plus manual wind equals cruelty to fingertips), or poor finishing that’s just not befitting of watches of a high caliber (no pun intended).  It’s strange that manufactures seem to design things that are purely for form and aesthetics without any care to the actual functionality - I won't wear a watch I can't wind and I won't have a great ownership experience if I don't wear that watch. 

A quick comparison of the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda 1950 Steel timepiece to other typical three-hand timepieces in some key problematic areas shows some interesting facts...

Some typical three hand watches of this caliber are the:

A.    A. Lange & Sohne 1815 model (233 model or 235 model)

B.     Patek Philippe 5196 and 5119 models

C.    Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Traditionelle model. 

Here’s a report card with A-excellent, B-above average, C-average, D-below average grades for all of these watches in some key problem areas. 

The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda 1950 in steel, really has it where it counts and when looked upon objectively is a delight in multiple departments.  Its majestic 40mm size gives it strength and modern appeal, it’s practical, and it's reasonably priced.  Despite the fact the brand name doesn’t sound as familiar as Patek Philippe or Vacheron Constantin, Parmigiani Fleurier is akin to Roland Iten, one of those uber-exclusive brands among those who are in the know. 

As the curtain closes on this review, I highly advise any individual who considers him or herself a watch savant who’s considering a three-hand dress watch really ought to consider a watch like the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda 1950 in steel for its exceptional value, thoughtful ergonomic touches, and its compelling design. 

The kingdom (your wrist, our stage) has to build a 3-hand clock tower; the King (you) promises the Princess (your money) to anyone who erects the best clock tower.   Then four knights from Patekovia, Vacheron-Upon-Geneva, Lange-Ore-Mountain, and Parmigiani-Fleurier each come up with a proposal.  Who would you promise your Princess to?  Let us know below!  Thank you for reading! 

Disclaimers and Notes:  I was so fond of this watch at SIHH 2017 that I requested this watch on loan from Parmigiani Fleurier.  I received no special benefits from Parmigiani Fleurier for writing this review.  Many thanks to Parmigiani Fleurier for handling the logistics! 

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