Tonda PF Chronograph

Availability: See the Tonda PF Chronograph at 430 Park Avenue, NYC at 56th Street

• Case: 18-karat rose gold
• Size: 42mm
• Movement: automatic-winding manufacture caliber PF070, COSC-certified with integrated chronograph
• Function: hours, minutes, small seconds, date and chronograph
• Power Reserve: approximately 65 hours
• Water Resistance: 100 m
• Dial: Milano Blue dial with Grain d’Orge guilloché and hand-applied 18ct rose gold appliqués
• Caseback: sapphire crystal
• Hands: Hours and minutes: 18ct rose gold skeletonized delta-shaped Chronograph and small seconds: steel rose gold-plated
• Strap/Bracelet: Polished and satin-finished eco-friendly 18ct rose gold bracelet and folding clasp
• Factory Warranty: three years

With a judicious sense of detail, pattern, shape and curve, the Tonda PF is Parmigiani Fleurier’s latest and most forward-looking collection. Released as the watchmaking brand celebrates its 25th anniversary, these new integrated bracelet timepieces take attention to craft, complication and streamlined aesthetics to a new high. One that doesn’t scream expensive but says excellence. One that is created to satisfy purists looking for a high-end, finespun timepiece. The Tonda PF collection is built around the most iconic in-house movements of the maison, running a wide gamut of complications, and culminating in a limited edition, all-platinum, award-winning split-seconds chronograph.

The Tonda PF Collection

The Tonda PF collection inaugurates a new brand signature. The PF logo appears at 12 o’clock, nestled in a vertical, oval, double-edged appliqué with extensive finishings, a harbinger of the level of care put into the collection. The indices of each timepiece are set across two levels of the dial, while the Grain d’Orge guilloché dial pattern is the finest imaginable. Any smaller and it would have become invisible. Any larger, it would have become obvious, therefore defeating the purpose of this line: imperceptible refinement, entire dedication to exclusivity, modern permanence.

The Tonda PF is an entirely new collection of timepieces within the Tonda family, featuring Parmigiani Fleurier’s most distinctive complications from the outset. This includes the Tonda PF Micro-Rotor, a slim, pared-down, high-end two-hander with platinum micro-rotor. The Tonda PF Chronograph features an almost flush dial and an integrated high frequency chronograph movement. The Tonda PF Annual Calendar with retrograde date demonstrates how discretely and astutely advanced indications can be integrated into a pared-down design. All three models are available in steel with platinum hand-knurled bezel or entirely crafted in 18ct rose gold.

Sartorial Savvy

Everywhere the eye lands on a Tonda PF, there’s a particular texture, form, detail to be seen and enjoyed. This is not ornament, ostentation or opulence. This is a mature, sartorial approach to watchmaking, where cloth is replaced by metal and weaving by dial pattern. The cutting and fitting of the shoulders and waistline take on the form of case and bracelet. Like in a Neapolitan or Sicilian workshop, these are entirely focused on silhouette, fluidity, proportions and taste. Like any jacket that originates in those institutions of male elegance, the Tonda PF is tailored to withstand the passing of time and trends, and remain.

Its specific hands are made of solid gold. Slim and long, they’re almost entirely openworked and of completely new design. The bezel, a direct heritage from the Tonda collection, features a sleek, polished part and another that’s been knurled by hand, and is crafted out of solid platinum 950 for the steel models. Rather than using the same steel as the rest of the case and bracelet, Parmigiani Fleurier has elected to work with this highly precious metal. Not for the sake of exclusivity, but because it provides a better, shinier play with light and a more artisanal feeling once polished by hand.

The case band on all four references of the Tonda PF line deserves closer examination. It is not straight, but slightly bassiné, i.e. wider near the bezel and narrower on the wrist. This provides the overall design with a sense of increased slimness. The surface is horizontal-satin-finished all around as is the upper surface of the lugs.

The 42 mm Tonda PF Chronograph exemplifies how a particular design can shift according to the specific requirements of a complication. The 5 Hz Caliber PF070 is an integrated, high frequency, column wheel movement with small seconds and two registers. Integrating three counters on the Tonda PF Chronograph’s thinly guilloché dial demands finesse.

Parmigiani Fleurier maintains an almost flush surface by using thinly sandblasted minute track and counter outlines on the discrete blue dial. The pushers have been fused with the profile of the Tonda PF Chronograph’s lugs. This model, along with the Tonda PF Annual Calendar, premieres a new oscillating weight in 22ct rose gold, widely openworked with a central PF logo medallion.  The Tonda PF Chronograph features a polished and satin-finished bracelet and a 42mm case, both made in rose gold.  

The dial is finished with traditional Grain d’Orge guilloché, further accentuated by its vibrant blue color. In addition, the dial displays all relevant information in a legible yet sophisticated manner via a small second subdials, two more for the chronograph function, a date aperture at 4 o’clock and 18ct rose gold skeletonized delta-shaped hands indicating the hours and minutes. 

This timepiece houses the  PF070 movement, a COSC certified, automatic integrated chronograph with date.  The higher the oscillating frequency, the more accurate the chronograph. In-house integrated chronographs are rare; it is even rarer for them to beat at a 5-hertz frequency. This means that the chronograph’s seconds hand makes 10 jumps or “steps” per second, making it accurate to the nearest 10th of a second. Most other chronographs only make eight jumps per second, making it 25% less accurate.

It would be remiss not to also mention the fine quality and attention to detail paid to the finishing of the movement, which may be admired from the open caseback of the watch. All Parmigiani Fleurier movements feature chamfering and polishing done by hand.  The bridges, wheels, springs, levers, and other minuscule components receive tremendous attention – the hallmark of a Parmigiani Fleurier haute horlogerie piece. The PF070 features satin-finished open worked bridges and hand-beveled edges. All these elements contribute to the intrinsic beauty of the movement.

A Purist’s Delight for Those in the Know