BY JOVAN KRSTEVSKI
Parmigiani entered the luxury sports watch space with the launch of the Tonda GT watches. For 2021, Parmigiani is expanding the Tonda GT family with two new exciting Panda dial chronographs. One model comes with a stainless-steel housing and a 4 Hz automatic movement whereas the second model is fully clad in gold and features a 5Hz movement.
The new Tonda GT chronographs remain stylistically familiar to last year’s releases. Starting with dial, you get a tri-register set up with sub-dials at 3, 6 and 9 to track the running seconds, chronograph hours and minutes. All registers are nicely recessed and have been presented in black to offer a high contrast to the silver background, giving the watch its Panda look. The base dial also has a nice intricate texture to make things visually exciting. Adding depth to the dial are applied markers that have been coated with black luminous paint to match the sub-registers. At the 12 o’clock position is a large big date display and there is a small window to display the month at the bottom of the running seconds display (only on the steel model). Time can be read using the skeletonized hands that which in my opinion would be a little difficult to read in certain conditions on the steel variant.
Like many of its competitors the case on the Tonda GT chronograph features an integrated bracelet design which is well executed Crafted from 18k rose gold or stainless steel, the case measures 42mm in diameter, with a thickness of around 14.3mm, which makes it modestly sized in the realm of modern-day chronographs. Finishing looks top notch and the case is water-resistant to a healthy 100 meters making this a highly capable everyday sports watch. One of my favorite details on the case is the knurled bezel on top.
Both models are powered by beautifully decorated high-quality automatic chronograph movements. However, there are a few key differences worth mentioning. Powering the steel model is powered by the calibre PF043, which operates at 4 Hz and offers a power reserve of 48 hours. The rose gold model on the other hand is powered by the calibre PF071, which operates at 5 Hz, is COSC certified and provides an autonomy of around 65 hours.
Pricing for the new Parmigiani Tonda GT chronograph starts at CHF 18,500 in steel and CHF 41,000 in gold.
