The origins of Parmigiani Fleurier date back to the quartz crisis of the 70s and 80s when the introduction of quartz watches significantly impacted the demand for Swiss-made mechanical watches. During that time, a young watchmaker, Michel Parmigiani, operated a workshop devoted to restoring antique timepieces when he was asked to restore an antique pocket watch for Switzerland’s prominent Sandoz family. They immediately recognized his talent and helped him establish his own luxury watch brand in 1996. The brand launched its first wristwatch, the Toric QP Retrograde, that year.
More than 25 years later, Parmigiani Fleurier continues to deliver a level of expert Swiss craftsmanship and design that reflects Michel Parmigiani’s dedication to excellence.
The company is now led by CEO Guido Terreni who has been in the industry for 20 years, including 11 years at the helm of the watchmaking division of Bulgari. He joined Parmigiani Fleurier because he was ready for a new challenge where he could apply his extensive expertise and love of watches.
“I wanted a project that was holistic, one that was rooted in the watchmaking culture,” he explains. “The size of the brand was not really so important, but it was more the soul of the Parmigiani Fleurier brand that attracted me, because it’s a very deep brand in knowledge, but also in the making, because it masters its parts, its components and its assembly. This was one of the most important things that I was looking for, because if you master your production, you master your destiny. If you have values that are very noble, like Parmigiani has, you are addressing a luxury which is extremely refined.”
Terreni has led the company forward from both a creative standpoint and in identifying its purpose. He says the design process began with studying the values of the brand and choosing who they wanted to serve. “We did some very introspective work when I joined. It was January 2021, in the middle of the pandemic.”
“A metal bracelet watch, a very versatile and everyday watch, but one that was extremely refined, was our first priority,” he says. “The Tonda PF was born in a very small period of time because of the pandemic. It was a bit of an alignment of the stars because the capacity and production were free. It was quite impressive to say that we started designing three, four days after I joined at the end of January, and the product was presented at Geneva Watch Days seven months later and it hit in October.”
Next for Parmigiani will be the introduction of the TORIC collection this Fall, which will include the Toric Petite Seconde and the Toric Chronograph Rattrapante. “It’s clearly at a higher price point because we’re talking about a dress watch with a gold manually wound movement with dials that are in gold,” Terreni says. The Toric Chronograph Rattrapante will be produced in a limited edition of 30 watches to appeal to discerning collectors.
“The values of the brand and the values of the client are very connected,” Terreni says. “It’s about discretion. It’s about not being a loud brand. You come to Parmigiani not to show your wealth. You come to Parmigiani because you enjoy the refinement. You’re conveying your knowledge and your competence in discerning what you’re wearing. You don’t follow what others are asking you to put on the wrist.”
Rather than using the trendy term “quiet luxury” to describe his brand, Terreni prefers to use the expression “private luxury,” which is timeless. One example is the subtle use of the PF logo in an ellipse on the dial rather than spelling out the company’s name. “If you’re not showing off what you’re wearing, you don’t need it,” he says. “It’s much more refined to use graphism. The dial is unostentatious because the client is unostentatious.”
As Terreni notes, “True luxury is private and true luxury is personal.”