Parmigiani Fleurier SA () is a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

brand of luxury

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

s founded in 1996 in

Fleurier Fleurier was a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Val-de-Travers (district), Val-de-Travers in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel in Switzerland. On 1 January 2009, the former municip ...

by Michel Parmigiani. In 2006, Parmigiani produced the Bugatti 370, a driving watch which won the 2006 "Watch of the Year Award" from the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese press, supposedly based on the

Bugatti Veyron The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engine sports car designed and developed in Germany by the Volkswagen Group and Bugatti, and manufactured in Molsheim, France by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti. It was named after the racing driver Pi ...

supercar. The company is owned by the

Sandoz Sandoz Group AG is a Swiss company that focuses on generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars. Prior to October 2023, it was part of a division of Novartis that was established in 2003, when Novartis united all of its generics businesses under the ...

Family Foundation. Guido Terreni is the CEO of the company since January 2021.

History

Parmigiani Fleurier was started in 1996 in

Val-de-Travers Val-de-Travers is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. It was created on 1 January 2009, when the former municipalities of Boveresse, Buttes, Neuchâtel, Buttes, Couvet, Fleurier, Les Bayards, ...

. Founder Michel Parmigiani had conceived the brand in 1976 through his work restoring watchmaking artifacts, and his knowledge of historical mechanical clocks and watches. The Parmigiani restoration workshop worked with the Sandoz family to restore the collection of the Room Maurice Yves Sandoz of the Musée d’Horlogerie du Locle, which eventually led to the creation of the Parmigiani Fleurier. Parmigiani's career advanced significantly with the development of the

Chopard Le Petit-Fils de L.-U. Chopard & Cie S.A., commonly known as Chopard (), is a Swiss manufacturer and retailer of luxury watches, jewellery and accessories. Founded in 1860 by Louis-Ulysse Chopard in Sonvilier, Switzerland, Chopard has been owned ...

1860, the brand's first watch with an in-house mechanical movement. Powered by the Caliber 1.96, the watch was commercially unsuccessful; however it was subsequently called one of the greatest automatic movements ever made. and was a direct precursor to the launch of the Parmigiani Fleurier brand. In 2016, Parmigiani Fleurier unveiled the ''Hippologia'', a 55 kg, oval-shaped table clock covered in a foil of white gold and elaborated by the French glassmaker

Lalique Lalique is a French luxury glassmaker, founded by glassmaker and jeweller René Lalique in 1888. Lalique is produced glass art, including perfume bottles, vases, and hood ornaments during the early twentieth century. Following the death of ...

. In December 2020, Parmigiani Fleurier made a partnership with

Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer and a billionaire. He first gained renown working for Cerruti 1881. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sport, and luxury hotels. By 200 ...

to create the Giorgio Armani Fine Watches collection which was to be launched by the end of 2021. In January 2021, Guido Terreni replaced Davide Traxler as CEO of the company.

Watches

Parmigiani offers watches aimed at both men and women. All Parmigiani Fleurier watches are hand-made, each taking at least four hundred hours assemble; they are constructed with

precious metal Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high Value (economics), economic value. Precious metals, particularly the noble metals, are more corrosion resistant and less reactivity (chemistry), chemically reac ...

s and

precious Precious may refer to: Music * Precious (group), a British female pop group Albums * ''Precious'' (Chanté Moore album), 1992 * ''Precious'' (Conrad Sewell album), 2023 * ''Precious'' (Cubic U album), 1998 * ''Precious'' (Ours album), 200 ...

or semi-precious stones. In order to create exclusivity, only a few thousand pieces are produced every year. Their watch lines include the Toric, Forma (renamed Kalpa) and the single watch, the Bugatti 370. In 2006, the Bugatti 370 was awarded the "Watch of the Year" award by the Japanese Press. The watch is a driving watch based on the

supercar A supercar, also known as an exotic car, is a street-legal sports car with race track-like power, speed, and handling, plus a certain subjective ''cachet'' linked to pedigree and/or exclusivity. The term 'supercar' is frequently used for th ...

. It was designed to look like a transversal engine, and is mounted in 18 carat

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. In order to make it readable while driving, the face of the watch is placed in a vertical position on the case's front. The first Bugatti watch was given to car enthusiast

Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for founding the brand Ralph Lauren (brand), Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He stepped do ...

. Only one hundred and fifty of the watches will be made each year, fifty of each of the three dial colors available. The watch will cost

USD$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

200,000. In 2009, Parmigiani Fleurier and Pershing, an Italian yacht company, announced that they will be offering the first Pershing Aquatic sport watches. The watch will be available as a limited edition, and the Pershing Chronographs collection..

Senfine concept

In 2016, Parmigiani-Fleurier presents the Senfine concept housing a new escapement taking advantage of the properties of silicon flat springs. The revolutionary concept uses an oscillator with high frequency and low amplitude for enhanced precision and power reserve.Monochrome-watches
"The evolution of the escapement and recent innovations"
February 2016

References

External links

An interview
with founder Michel Parmigiani
Evolution of the escapement
''Monochrome-watches'' {{Authority control Watch manufacturing companies of Switzerland Swiss watch brands Design companies established in 1975 Manufacturing companies established in 1975 Swiss companies established in 1975 Privately held companies of Switzerland Companies based in the canton of Neuchâtel

History

Watches

Senfine concept

See also

References

External links