An elite brand situated in the heart of the Val-de-Travers, respected for the horological brilliance shown through the years, the company is vertically integrated producing every component except the sapphire crystals and luxury straps that are supplied by Hermes. Parmigiani Fleurier timepieces are highly sought after by collectors for the excellence and exquisite nature of the pieces. Due to the high value of the collections the brand realized they needed something discerning for a younger and more dynamic audience, in a more affordable range, thus the creation of the Tonda Metrographe Watch collection.
This new timepiece is created as a less cluttered version of a tri-compax chronograph. The subdials have a slight overlap, but the legibility is not effected and the functionality is not impacted in any way. Originally released with a cream and black colored dial, the brand also released a special edition light pale green version, 'crème de menthe' which is exquisite and has to be seen to really bring justice to this beauty. The design of the timepiece is one of the most striking of the characteristics, the highly visible figure 8, noticeable by the distinct outline shaped by the hours and minutes subdials.
The Parmigiani Fleurier Metrographe cream colored version is less formal than the others in the collection but the black dial does give the appearance of a more elegant look and using the SuperLumiNova lume paint on the numerals really provide a contrast for the colors and indexes. All the dial variants offer something striking for example the version with the grained white dial offers indexes that are gold plated and Arabic numerals featured at noon, 3 and 9 o'clock. The shape of the hour and minutes hand are delta shaped and certainly remain true to the design language of the maison.
While all of the models the collection offers share the arrangement of the chronograph counters, each dial captures a different color and texture combination really bringing a unique personality to each timepiece. The in-house manufactured chronograph movement, Calibre PF315 is a classic timekeeper but does offer in the lower portion of the 12-hour chronograph counter an elongated date aperture, providing the date in excellent clarity. The aesthetic offering while similar in many ways is carefully crafted to appeal to a variety of buyers, as the dial variants truly provide very unique choices.
The Tonda Metrographe features an exhibition caseback, allowing all connoisseurs to view the defined execution of the self-winding movement that lies within. The partnership with Hermes for the straps is also a match made in heaven. The bracelets or leather straps provide a perfect finish to an amazing timepiece. When you have precision and quality gracing the innermost aspects of the watch you want the wearing experience to equal that creation. The timepiece is self-winding, is graced with the Côtes de Genève motif and beveled bridges. The movement is really quite complex with 351 individual parts and while the placement is on the lower end of luxury watches, it is not compromised on any aspect of the design or mechanisms.
The Parmigiani Fleurier brand has delivered another handsome collection, offering subtle details and enjoyment for any buyer. High quality and discerning care have been placed within each of the watches in the collection, and drawing in the younger buyer is brilliant as you try to create further brand loyalty for your other higher end timepieces the brand offers. The greatest aspect of this collection is that it has also appealed to your other buyers, those already loyal to the brand, and to new buyers who are just discovering the amazing timepieces the brand has to offer.