Nov 14, 2016
Reading time 3 min.
Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda 1950 Météorite Special Edition
SIHH 2017 Preview:
Parmigiani Fleurier has announced that it will unveil, at the upcoming SIHH watch salon in Geneva, the newest addition to its Tonda 1950 Meteorite family. The watch, like its two predecessors, features a dial made from a meteorite fragment and cut using a special process developed by Parmigiani watchmakers.
Parmigiani Fleurier has announced that it will unveil, at the upcoming SIHH watch salon in Geneva, the newest addition to its Tonda 1950 Météorite family. The watch, like its two predecessors, features a dial fashioned from a meteorite fragment and cut using a special process developed by Parmigiani watchmakers.
The dial of the new Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda 1950 Météorite Special Edition comes from a piece of cosmic stone recently discovered in Sweden that is, according to the brand, "unlike any other... and which could potentially shed new light on the most important aspects of the solar system." In contrast to previous meteorite dials produced by Parmigiani — one in abyss blue, the other in nickel black — this one is bright white in color.
Parmigiani Tonda 1950 Meteorite - white
PR
The watchmakers at Parmigiani's manufacture in Fleurier, Switzerland, had to take into consideration the extreme hardness of the meteorite material and the variability of its mineral structure while painstakingly cutting the dials from it. After they are polished, the dials are chemically treated to bring out the striations known as "Widmanstatten patterns," formed as the material cools over a long period, which gives meteorite dials their unique look.
Parmigiani Tonda 1950 Meteorite dial CU
PR
The watch's case and bezel are made of tough-but-lightweight polished titanium and measure 39 mm in diameter and a slender 7.97 mm thick. Inside, and visible through a sapphire caseback, is Parmigiani's proprietary Caliber PF 702, an ultra-thin (2.6 mm), self-winding movement with a plethora of haute horlogerie finishes, such as on the sand-blasted, circular-grained, rhodium-plated nickel silver mainplate, hand-beveled bridges decorated with côtes de Genève, and beveled, sunk wheels circular-grained on both sides and gilded before cutting. The dial hosts Parmigiani's hallmark Delta-shaped hour and minute hands with luminous coating, a discreet small seconds subdial at 6 o'clock, and applied, rhodium-plated hour indices. The caseback of each Tonda 1950 Meteorite is engraved with the words "EDITION SPECIALE" and the watch's edition number. The price is $19,500.
To accompany the launch of this new timepiece, Parmigiani Fleurier is also reissuing its two other Meteorite editions — with black nickel dial in a titanium case and abyss blue dial in titanium or rose gold case, all pictured below —at SIHH 2017.
Parmigiani Tonda 1950 Meteorite - black
PR
Parmigiani: Tonda 1950 Météorite Special Edition
PR
Parmigiani Tonda 1950 Meteorite - blue - gold
PR
