Parmigiani Fleurier
- Founded
- 1996
- Based in
- Fleurier, Switzerland
- In our catalog
- 1 watch from $25,000 to $27,000
Parmigiani Fleurier is a watchmaker's watchmaker. Its founder made his name restoring antique clocks and automata, and the company he built controls almost every step of making a watch, from movements to cases to dials. Its Tonda PF, with a finely knurled platinum bezel and almost no branding, has won over collectors who want luxury that doesn't announce itself.
History
Michel Parmigiani set up as a restorer in Fleurier in 1976 and became known for restoring the Sandoz family's collection of antique watches and automata. With backing from the Sandoz Family Foundation, he launched his own brand in 1996.
The foundation went on to buy the specialist suppliers a manufacture needs: Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier for movements, and workshops for cases, dials and small components. That gave Parmigiani a level of independence few brands its size have. In 2021, under CEO Guido Terreni, the brand relaunched the Tonda PF as a steel sports watch with an integrated bracelet and a deliberately quiet dial, and it quickly became the brand's best-known model.
Signature models
- Tonda PF Micro-Rotor: The integrated-bracelet sports watch with a slim micro-rotor movement, a hand-guilloché dial and a platinum bezel with fine knurling. The logo is a small PF at six o'clock, and that's it.
- Toric: Parmigiani's classical dress watch line, with the same knurled bezel motif.
What it's known for
Parmigiani watches have subtle dials, very fine finishing and very little branding. Because the group makes its own movements and parts, it can offer complications that bigger houses charge much more for.
Price and positioning
The Tonda PF starts around $20,000 to $30,000 in steel, with gold and complicated pieces much higher. It's often compared with Vacheron Constantin's Overseas and AP's Royal Oak, and it's the choice for people who would rather nobody recognized their watch.
Parmigiani Fleurier watches in our library
- Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Micro-Rotor ($25,000 to $27,000)