ExclusiveFinally In India—Parmigiani Fleurier, An Ethos-Exclusive In Haute Horlogerie

At a time when people were being dissuaded from joining the mechanical watch industry—as it was entering some of its darkest hours—Michel Parmigiani, well-renowned horologist and founder of Parmigiani Fleurier, decided to nurture his curiosity towards discovering the art of restoring luxury watches. Holding the initial desire to be an architect, Michel leaned towards horology by enrolling into a watchmaking school 15 minutes away from his home in Fleurier in western Switzerland.

In 1976, Michel opened his traditional watch workshop in Couvet in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. In 1980, he had a tryst with the Sandoz Family Foundation. Established by sculptor and painter Edouard-Marcel Sandoz, the foundation’s goal was to encourage entrepreneurial commitment through long-term holdings in companies in various sectors. In recognition of Michel’s prodigious talents, the foundation appointed him as the official restorer for the collection of watchmaking artefacts owned by them. With immense support and encouragement from the Foundation, he went on to launch his own brand in May 1996, while investing in a strong staff that has truly mastered the tourbillon and chronograph.

From Watchmaking Artefacts To Court Jesters

Throughout his quest towards the discovery of the heritage of traditional watchmaking, Michel produced unique, beautiful mechanical objects and very small series for some brands and collectors. Three years later, the Toric QP Retrograde—the brand’s first wristwatch—was unveiled. This historic timepiece adorned a bezel with knurling, thereby introducing Parmigiani Fleurier’s now idiosyncratic style of watch design to the world. What’s fascinating is that through his creations, Michel has maintained his association with the same artisan who applies the knurling to every single Toric watch by hand.

The new millennium ushered in the launch of the Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, which became the Parmigiani Fleurier watchmaking centre’s engineering powerhouse. In a move that led to a new discussion on quality in watchmaking, the watchmaker forged a partnership with Bugatti, and introduced the Bugatti Type 370 timepiece, which Michel termed ‘the court jester that defies limits and explores the field of possibilities without fearing conventions, or the guillotine’.

The maison and its fully independent manufacture nurture craftsmanship and creative dexterity in a truly impressive manner. The cases are made in Les Artisans Boîtiers, and the unique dials are produced in the Quadrance et Habillage. The Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier is the watch movement division, while Elwin and Atokalpa—joint subsidiaries of the watchmaking centre—are specialists in precision bar turning and the production of micro mechanical components. Not to mention an intrinsic component of watchmaking that brings it all together—straps. In 2006, Hermès acquired a stake in the watchmaking centre, which even led to the use of the Hermès leather straps on Parmigiani Fleurier watches.

The Cornerstone Of The Brand: The Creations

Each creation is a reflection of the calibre of the creator, who gets involved in the making of each and every prestige watch. With credit to Michel’s inclinations and vast knowledge about restoration and technical subtleties of the mechanisms created in the past, there are a number of inspired masterpieces in the brand’s repertoire, such as the Tonda Hémisphères, a GMT watch that takes clues from an antique traveller’s pocket watch; the Ovale Pantographe, a prestige watch that brought back the charisma of pantograph hands seen before on an antique pocket watch; the Toric Capitole, an ethereal timepiece that takes its complication from a pocket watch with sector time display; and lastly, the Toric Kaleidoscope—an horological complication of hypnotising beauty. High-end collections such as the Kalpa, Tonda, Toric and Bugatti demonstrate the creativity of this vertically-integrated organisation and underlies the brand’s aesthetic values.

Coming to the operational aspect, it is astounding how Parmigiani Fleurier has made conscientious efforts to employ young watchmakers and train them with a focused outlook on restoration. This ‘pedagogy’ enables them to understand what transpired in the watchmaking industry over the last three centuries and observe how handmade masterpieces are different to watches made by a computer.

Regarded as one of the more recent success stories of the Swiss watchmaking industry, the watchmaker enjoys exciting alliances with the world of music (for instance, as the global partner for the 2007 Montreux Jazz Festival) and photography (Musée de l’Elysée—a museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, entirely devoted to photography), as well as partnerships with Bugatti, Pershing and Pomellato.

On February 16, Ethos had the pleasure of hosting the launch of Parmigiani Fleurier in India. We celebrated the launch by hosting three events at The Lodhi and The Oberoi, in Delhi. The wide range of exclusive and limited edition Parmigiani watches attracted a packed house at each event. Here is a glimpse from the events:

Entering India with a bang, Swiss watch manufacturer Parmigiani Fleurier showcased a slew of stunning timepieces

Parmigiani Fleurier has forayed into the Indian market exclusively with Ethos Watch Boutiques

Seen here is Yashovardhan Saboo, Managing Director, Ethos Watch Boutiques, gushing about the Parmigiani novelties

People thronging at the launch event

01

Seen here are Luca Castellani, chief commercial officer, Parmigiani Fleurier (left) and Davide Traxler, CEO, Parmigiani Fleurier (centre) in conversation with Pranav Saboo, CEO, Ethos Watch Boutiques

In Ethos, Parmigiani Fleurier has found the perfect partner