Founded in 1996, Parmigiani Fleurier is a Swiss fine watchmaking house and has a reputation for excellent watches with a unique design inspired by classical architecture. Meanwhile, the Toric case shape is relatively new but it has been used for both highly complicated watches and time-and-date watches from the brand. The latter now also comes with COSC which is responsible for the certification of watches as chronometers in Switzerland. Also, the brand has employed another certification which is the Foundation Qualité Fleurier (FQF). With two certifications, what could go wrong? It really falls now to what the wearer really wants. And judging by the classy appeal of the watch, it is not very hard to find interested buyers.
The Toric line is strongly identified with the brand and its design now combined with the FQF certification is such an attractive integration that makes everyone happy. Given the fine watchmaking of Parmigiani Fleurier, the certification is just a formality but of course, it serves as an affirmation of the horological terroir of the region and its significance to fine watchmaking. Moreover, the FQF certification has five requirements: two being stipulations regarding the place of manufacture and quality of materials, and three for the actual tests.
FQF states that the watch must be “entirely designed, produced, assembled and tested in Switzerland, with each component accompanied by a certificate of origin. This criterion substantially exceeds the requirements of the widely used ‘Swiss Made’ label, which can be met without meaningful testing provided 60% of the watch head has been produced in Switzerland.” Next, only traditional materials must be used and thirdly, the movement must be certified by the COSC as a chronometer. Finally, the tests include Chronofiable test (for durability) and the Fleuritest (for accuracy). Rest assured the tests reflect daily usage particularly the accuracy of the watch.
The new Toric Qualité Fleurier is indeed a glorified watch but it also looks very handsome featuring a hand-engraved bezel. At $23,500 it will certainly appeal to those with fine taste for a Swiss watch. Nevertheless, if you want to buy one though, ask a friend or a colleague who happened to have invested in this watch because judging by the photos is not quite enough. Seeing the details in person will definitely allow you to decide faster and easier.
Having said the above, the 18k red or white gold 40.8 mm case looks very classy for a dressy watch. I prefer the white gold since it beautifully frames the lovely silver guilloché dial that offers a clever sense of depth with superb reflections under subtle lighting. The 18k rose gold indexes also adds more readability other than value of course and I like their elegant javelin shapes. The date is displayed on nicely framed aperture at 6 o’clock below the Qualité Fleurier caption.
The impressive automatic movement PF331-QF with 55 hours of power reserve can be seen partly through the caseback.
Finally, the Parmigiani Toric Qualité Fleurier comes with an elegant Hermès alligator strap with a pin buckle. Visit Parmigiani Fleurier here.
