Parmigiani Fleurier has announced another new release for 2017 ahead of its official debut at the SIHH watch salon in January. The new Tonda Métrographe is an updated version of one of the Swiss brand’s most well-known models, tailored to contemporary tastes. Here’s what you need to know about it.
The main changes evident in the new version of the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda Métrographe — which is available with either a silvered white or oxidized black dial — are the addition of a tachymeter scale around the dial’s periphery and re-sized subdials for the chronograph hours and minutes. The stainless steel case measures 40 mm in diameter and sports a fully polished finish. The black-dialed version of the watch (below) features powdered rose-gold details and rose-gold hands for the subdials and central chronograph seconds counter. The white-dialed version has blue details and blued steel chronograph hands. The snailed decoration underneath the hour track and inside the subdials — achieved by a chasing tool that removes tiny amounts of material — adds depth to the dial with its concentric circular motif.
The borders of the figure eight formed by the 9 o’clock and 6 o’clock subdial are now slightly raised rather than defined by a flat layer of luminescent coating. Parmigiani has also reinstated the red numeral “1” in the curved date window at 12 o’clock, a feature on earlier versions of the Tonda Metrographe. The Delta-shaped hour and minute hands are domed and coated with luminous material. A double-sided hand on the subdial at 3 o’clock— an element that debuted on the brand’s Tonda Chronor Anniversaire — counts off the running seconds. Elapsed times are tallied on the 12-hour counter at 9 o’clock and the 30-minute counter at 6 o’clock.
Inside the watch, and visible through a sapphire caseback, is Parmigiani’s self-winding PF315 caliber, with 46 jewels, a 28,800-vph frequency, and a 42-hour power reserve. It includes a module for the 1/4-second chronograph and boasts côtes de Genève decoration on the bridges. Both versions of the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda Métrographe are mounted on calfskin leather straps with steel folding buckles and priced at $11,500. Steel-bracelet versions (pictured at bottom) are $12,000.
