How have you managed to transform and heighten Parmigiani’s desirability in just two years?
The heart and identity of a watch brand of Parmigiani Fleurier’s status are centered on its products. It must be consistent and substantial, the collection must be the clear and legible backbone of the brand.This was my challenge and my priority when I took over as CEO of Parmigiani Fleurier in 2021: to give the brand back its identity. That meant having to make choices and I chose to rebuild it on the basis of Tonda PF presented in September 2021: the matrix of everything that done to date. Tonda PF has enabled the company to regain its rightful place in the circle of exclusive, high value-added brands. Tonda PF and its various executions have created the foundation we were lacking and it is now established.
As for desirability, it has been achieved thanks to the collection's stylistic and aesthetic code focused on discretion, purity and elegance. All of this has naturally been done in keeping with the brand's historical standards: a superlative level of overall craftsmanship; the pursuit of absolute perfection; attention to the tiniest details; along with top-flight Haute Horlogerie content. That’s what enthusiasts and collectors expect from Parmigiani Fleurier and we make every effort to satisfy them.
What does the notion of sport bring to the collection?
A complete watch collection must include a watch typology with a sports-related spirit. I say spirit, because the new Tonda PF Sport line expresses the brand's values above all else. It is not the ‘special weapon’ in a quest for performance or extreme sport, but rather the expression of a relaxing moment attuned to our values: refinement, personal time out from the rush of professional life, yet making no concessions when it comes to the watches in the PF collection.
Their sporty tone is reflected in our signature knurled bezel, which features 160 notches rather than 220 for the regular collection, along with a hand-sewn Cordura-type treated rubber strap. Apart from these two points, Tonda PF Sport is immediately identifiable as a member of the regular PF collection, whether the Micro-Rotor or the Tourbillon.
Their Haute Horlogerie movements – a twin barrel for the automatic version and 5 Hz for the integrated chronograph – leave no doubt as to their parentage: high-flying watchmaking creations exactly as we know how to make them.
What does the brand offer that doesn't exist anywhere else?
Parmigiani Fleurier is a brand grounded in two core values handed down by its founder Michel Parmigiani, a living legend in the world of restoration: broad cultural knowledge of the history of mechanical art, its crafts and finishes; along with a sense of discretion. We interpret private, unostentatious luxury. The brand stands out by its minimalist style that is highly recognizable while offering a wealth of finishes. This aesthetic sophistication is complemented by the idea of refusing to accept that everything has already been done when it comes to watchmaking. We seek to push boundaries through research into achieving world firsts, such as the GMT-Rattrapante and the Minute Rattrapante, which reinterpret or invent new ways of measuring time.
