Depart it to Parmigiani Fleurier to make materials innovation an train in restraint. Whereas the observe of borrowing high-tech supplies from aerospace or automotive industries will not be new to watchmaking, it’s usually accompanied by aggressive posturing – all wild colors and boasts of digital indestructibility. Not so at Parmigiani Fleurier. When the model introduced it had change into the primary to make use of cermet (a composite of ceramic and steel, coated beneath and in our supplies particular elsewhere) extensively in a watch case, it did so with quiet refinement. Meet the Tonda PF Sport Chronograph Extremely-Cermet.
Cermet is a composite well-liked in aerospace, automotive, biomedical, and different high-performance fields, prized for combining the most effective qualities of ceramics and metals. It gives the scratch-resistance of ceramic whereas sustaining the toughness and ductility of steel, making it much less brittle, extra sturdy, and pleasingly light-weight and funky to the contact. There are all method of such ceramic and steel blends, a few of that are composites and others not fairly. Within the case of the Fleurier model, it’s a mix of ceramic and titanium, leading to a cool anthracite shade with a delicate metallic sheen, enhanced via alternating brushed and polished finishes.
The Tonda PF Sport Chronograph Extremely-Cermet’s 42.5mm by 13.3mm case, fluted bezel, crown, pushers, and pin buckle are all produced from this composite. It took the model three years to develop the fabric, and the case alone requires a full day to assemble it 72 distinct elements.
Learn Extra: Guido Terreni, CEO of Parmigiani Fleurier Navigates The Way forward for Luxurious Watchmaking
The dial continues the theme of understated sophistication. A satin-finished black or (a 9k gold-nickel alloy) offers the floor a grey-black hue that harmonises with the case. Delta-shaped, open-worked palms monitor the hours and minutes, whereas a central second hand marks the chronograph perform. The gold indices are hand-applied, plated with black or, and stuffed with lume for nighttime legibility. Two dial variations can be found – one with subdials in “London Gray”, the opposite in “Milano Blue”– every paired with an identical rubber strap.
Flip the watch over and you will see that the in-house PF070 calibre, first launched in 2021 for the model’s twenty fifth anniversary and the launch of the Tonda PF Chronograph assortment. A high-frequency motion beating at 5 Hz (36,000 vph), it measures elapsed time to 1/tenth of a second and is COSC-certified. It includes a column wheel and vertical clutch, whereas its bridges are open-worked, satin-finished, and hand-bevelled. The 22-carat rose gold oscillating weight is skeletonised, sandblasted, and polished. Absolutely wound, the calibre gives 65 hours of energy reserve.
In an business the place cutting-edge is never quiet, the Tonda PF Sport Chronograph Extremely-Cermet is refreshingly modest, with out shedding presence. As CEO Guido Terreni places it: “Our timepieces are created for many who worth silence over noise, craftsmanship over spectacle, and which means over affectation.”
This story was first seen as a part of the WOW #79 Summer season 2025 Difficulty
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