Tale of the Roses: Parmigiani Fleurier Unveils Two of the Five Grand Feu Models

Established in 1996, Parmigiani Fleurier is feted the world over for its expertise in the art of restoration. The young brand was founded by restorer and master watchmaker Michel Parmigiani. 

‍

To celebrate its founder’s birthday (December 2), the timepiece maker is gradually unveiling a series of five Les Roses Carrées (‘Collection Grand Feu’) unique minute repeaters. Last December, Parmigiani showcased its first model in the series, the La Rosa Celeste (Ref. PFH991-2010002-300181). This year, Parmigiani has added a second model to the collection and it’s called the Rosa Mystica (Ref.PFH991-2010001-300181). Three more iterations will be released later this year.

‍

Needless to say, the brand stands for much more than just the sporty Tonda GT or the thin and much detailed Tonda PF. Today, the brand has two dedicated lines – one for men and the other for women. 

‍

The first minute repeater was introduced in the mid 18th century and used two round gongs for the chiming mechanism. So, what exactly is a minute repeater? Simply put, it is a complication that relays the time. Timepieces have an independent chiming mechanism that announces different hours and minutes with the help of two hammers. 

‍

Parmigiani Fleurier’s La Rosa Celeste is a 42 mm white gold minute repeater with the bezel, the lugs and the case band getting hand-engraved with the La Rose Carrée motif. Between the petals of this horological flower, Parmigiani Fleurier has concealed a manually wound minute repeater calibre with cathedral gongs. 

‍

Similar to pocket watches, the18 ct white gold dial is also embellished with an identical shade of blue Grand Feu enamel, but it is decorated with small carvings to produce a glistening, chiselled surface.

‍

Elements, such as the gold skeletonised delta-shaped hour, minute hands and the small applied gold indices, are borrowed directly from the new Tonda PF collection. The minute repeater is fitted with long gongs that produce deeper chimes. The case middle and the caseback are fitted with resonance pockets to enhance the quality of the chiming of the gongs. The 3 o’clock crown gets a cabochon-cut natural sapphire. 

‍

Powering the watch is the  in-house manual-winding Calibre PF355 with a minute repeater on cathedral gongs and a continuous chiming sequence movement, which is similar to the PF361 Calibre with a 72-hour power reserve. Turning the watch over showcases the hunter’s caseback, decorated with a large square hand-engraved fractal rose pattern and covered with six layers of deep blue Grand Feu enamel. 

‍

The Parmigiani Fleurier Rosa Celeste comes with a blue hand-stitched alligator leather strap, featuring a white gold pin buckle with hand-engraved La Rose Carée pattern.

‍

The second model, Rosa Mystica (Ref.PFH991-2010001-300181), launched this year, sports a red Grand Feu enamel dial. The 3 o’clock crown gets a cabochon-cut natural garnet. The watch comes with a red hand-stitched alligator leather strap with a white gold pin buckle that shows the hand-engraved La Rose Carée pattern. 

Watch this space for the introduction of the other three variants later this year. 

‍