By Summer Sheffer
Parmigiani Fleurier has brought upon us the new Tonda 1950 Tourbillon, which is the world’s thinnest automatic flying tourbillon with micro-rotor, after just two years of development and research. This timepiece combines the simple and graceful lines of the Tonda collection with an Haute Horlogerie complication. It’s not only beautiful but too incredibly impressive in my opinion.
The way this timepiece was able to attain the remarkable thinness of the 3 Hz (21,600 vph) PF517 movement at just 3.4 mm was by directly integrating the micro-rotor directly into the main plate, which completely takes away the thickness of an extra layer. Combining the micro-rotor, the barrel, the tourbillon cage, the time-setting mechanism, and the central display system in the same main plate was a major challenge that Parmigiani Fleurier tackled without offsetting the time display.
Parmigiani Fleurier saved space by creating a flying tourbillon with a special characteristic of a cage sat upon a lone bridge for support. A ball bearing replaces the mounting function, without adding to the thickness of the movement.
Parmigiani Fleurier was able to create the world’s lightest (0.255 g) tourbillon cage because of the decision to use titanium. It’s very low weight and inertia enable rotational movement with no loss of torque. The efficiency of the tourbillon is increased and the chronometry of the timepiece enhanced.
The seconds hand, which was made from blued steel, forms an essential piece of the tourbillion cage. This hand is not in fact produced separately to the tourbillon, but from the same manufacturing department with the principal task to promptly counterbalance the weight of the other elements that make up the tourbillon cage.
The orientation of the tourbillion, which is determined by an angle corresponding to 07:08, is highlighted by a red applique around the edge of the seconds.
An oblique pattern formed of a series of Côtes de Genève decorates the bridges of the movement. Their design, which follows a circular arc, take the shape of a wave, demonstrating the swinging of the tourbillon which spread through the movement.
There are five versions of the Tonda 1950 Tourbillon available for purchase: white or black jade with a white gold case, grained white or blue abyss with Côtes de Genève decoration and a red gold case, or grey mother of pearl with a white gold case featuring a precious diamond-set bezel.
The case has a diameter of 40.20 mm and a total thickness of 8.65 mm for all of the models. The price of the Tonda 1950 Tourbillon is $130,000 apart from the model with a grey mother of pearl dial and diamonds which has a price of $135,000.
In summary, I’d say that Parmigiani Fleurier’s Tonda 1950 Tourbillon is not only magnificent but gorgeous. I for one would be proud to own such a lovely watch. For more info, please visit parmigiani.ch
SUMMER SHEFFER – CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Summer’s stepfather introduced her to the world of watches when she was at a young age. He’d gotten a watch with a face that lit up, and she’d become incredibly intrigued. Years went on, and she did more research about watches, mostly what’s on the inside. She was fascinated by how they were put together. As for luxury watches, Summer prefers Breitling. Though her favorite brands are Franck Muller and Jaeger-LeCoultre. Read her articles here.
