Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date
Watches and Wonders: Parmigiani Fleurier’s New Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date
Parmigiani Fleurier brings timeless (or should we say, “date-less”) refinement to Geneva in the form of the brand’s new Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date.
By Mike Espindle
Executive Editor
In Geneva, Parmigiani Fleurier released a new Tonda PF timepiece so simple in its design that it captures not only the essence of the Swiss brand but also the elegance of time-keeping itself.
From the mouth of Parmigiani CEO Guido Terreni: “In the creation of the new Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date, we endeavored to offer to the ‘purist of the purists’ an object that embodies absolute clarity.”
I mean, look at it: From the knurled platinum bezel to the hollow 18-karat gold/rhodium-plated hands, to the simple rhodium-plated indices, to the extraordinary “golden sienna” hand-guilloché dial, a lot of the maker’s design DNA comes through, but in a stripped-away, white-dwarf-star concentrated form. That is simple on the outside but loaded and complex on the inside.
Share The Simple
You will see many of these elements in past PF releases, like last year’s Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante. But, hey, that extra split-hour hand might be too much for some. So, while Parmigiani has used the Tonda PF line to add functionality and complication to the brand’s repertoire of late, this new Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date release is an artful reduction, reminding me of a good tawny port wine sauce.
First, while a date function isn’t always included on Tonda models, it’s the kind of thing most watchmakers automatically add on a two-hander. But it gets a reductive pass here, giving the pared-down design all the more room to shine, especially the brand’s signature grain d’orge guilloché dial (a pattern amongst the most detailed you can even execute in guilloché).
I’ll leave it to you to decide if its “Golden Sienna” color more closely resembles a Tuscan sunset or sunrise.
Equally straightforward (but distinctly modern and sporty) is the Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date’s polished and satin-finished 40mm stainless steel case (with a platinum 950 bezel, as mentioned above). Moreover, its three-link bracelet causes no visual noise to take away from the handsome dial.
Privatize The Appeal
Although the rest of the world will see an exceptional but distinctly clean and unfussy Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date on your wrist, there are louder attention-getters concealed inside and viewable via the exhibition caseback of the watch, only for you.
That is because, by equipping the movement with a micro-rotor and eschewing the traditional rotor (which renders half of the movement hidden at any given time), the designers at Parmigiani knew they had to execute a higher level of decoration. And they did not disappoint, as its thin (3.7mm) PF703 calibre with micro-rotor winding features hand finishing and polishing like Côtes de Genève and perlage.
Micro-Power
Finally, although micro-rotors have been adopted and explored by many fine watchmakers (like Bulgari, Czapek, Laurent Ferrier, and Speake-Marin, to name a few), some within the watch-loving community still question their ability to deliver serious power. However, manufactured in dense, heavy Platinum 950, the Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date’s oscillator provides a more than respectable 48 hours of power reserve. ‘Nuff said?
At press time during the show, pricing and availability were not available. But, by the time you read this, more details for the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Micro-Rotor No Date should be available on the brand’s website.
(Photography by Pierre Vogel)
The Toric is Back: CEO Guido Terreni Talks About the World of Parmigiani Fleurier at Watches and Wonders
By Ash Longet
, PR & Business Development
Parmigiani Fleurier CEO Guido Terreni gives us a guided tour of the newly relaunched Toric collection.