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Parmigiani Fleurier Slates Two Tourbillon Watches

Parmigiani Fleurier launches two slate-dialed complicated watches as part of its Watches & Wonders 2020 debut lineup. Each model includes a thin tourbillon and each is also being made as part of a very limited edition.

The new Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Tourbillon Slate.

On the new Toric Tourbillon Slate, Parmigiani Fleurier integrates its extra-thin flying tourbillon into the movement’s main plate, which helps to maintain the watch’s thinness. Parmigiani Fleurier places the tourbillon here at the 7 o’clock position as a nod to the brand’s founder, Michel Parmigiani, who was born at 7:08 am on December 2, 1950.

That tourbillon, the focus of the brand’s ultra-thin PF517 movement, is powered by a platinum micro-rotor. Its bridges have been decorated with côtes de Genève.  

The Parmigiani Fleurier ultra-thin PF517 inside the Toric Tourbillon Slate features a platinum micro-rotor.

And while the tourbillon itself is a focus, so is the handcrafted barley grain guilloché pattern on the slate-colored dial.

The Toric collection is possibly Parmigiani Fleurier’s most classically styled collection, and this model underscores that history with its rose gold case inspired by Greek Doric columns. You might recall that the Toric was Michel Parmigiani’s first case, which debuted in 1996 when the master watchmaker launched his watch brand following many years restoring watches and clocks.

Parmigiani Fleurier will make the watch, which comes with a Hermès Havane leather strap, as a limited edition of twenty-five pieces. Price: $130,000.

Tondagraph Tourbillon

Parmigiani Fleurier also debuted this Tondagraph Rose Gold Slate as part of its Watches & Wonders 2020 collection.

The Tondagraph Rose Gold Slate

The Tondagraph represents a more contemporary styling within the brand’s multi-complication collections, though this model is a bit more classical (with its rich guilloché dial) than earlier examples within the collection. The Tondagraph’s teardrop lugs, round case and prominent displays are slightly muted when compared to earlier examples thanks to the addition this year of the rich guilloché dial, which here echoes the watchmaker’s now-characteristic slate hue.

The 43mm watch shows its thin tourbillon and prominent bridge at the bottom of the dial while the counter at 3 o’clock shows chronograph minutes. Nicely balancing those displays you’ll see the small seconds at 9 o’clock and the power reserve at the top of the dial.

This display also differs from previous incarnations with its fully skeletonized delta-shaped hour and minute hands and its switch from large Arabic hour markers to more subtle minutes track with two gold appliques at 3 and 9.

Parmigiani Fleurier’s handsome PF354 manually wound mechanical caliber is a treat to view through the clear sapphire caseback.

Inside Parmigiani Fleurier’s beautifully designed PF354 manually wound mechanical caliber is a treat to view through the clear sapphire caseback. It offers a power reserve of 65 hours. Price: $199,000, with limited production.

 

Specifications: Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Tourbillon Slate

Movement: Automatic PF517, extra-thin flying tourbillon displaying hours, minutes, seconds, tourbillon (60 seconds), 48-hour power reserve, 
21,600 vph frequency, Côtes de Genève décor, beveled bridges, platinum micro-rotor with “Grain d’Orge” guilloché

Dial: Slate finishing with guilloché Grain de Riz Indexes in 18-karat rose gold

Hands: Javelin-shaped with luminescent coating

Case: 42.8mm by 9.45mm polished red gold. Caseback: Engraving w/individual number and EDITION LIMITEE XX/25

Strap: Hermès Havana alligator strap with 18-karat gold pin buckle.

 

Specifications: Parmigiani Fleurier Tondagraph Rose Gold Slate

Movement: PF354 
manual winding, 21,600 vph frequency, 65-hour power reserve

Functions: Hours, minutes, small second, tourbillon, chronograph, power reserve

Case: 43mm
 by 13.4mm
 rose gold with 
30 meters water resistance, sapphire crystal  

Dial: Slate
 with rose-gold-plated appliques, “Guilloché Grain de riz” Skeleton Delta-shaped hands

Strap: Hermès Alligator Havana with pin buckle 18-karat rose gold

 

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The Watches

TAG Heuer Launches Monaco Grand Prix Edition

Even though the Monaco Grand Prix, originally scheduled for last weekend, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TAG Heuer is still presenting a special-edition timepiece in tribute to the event and to the Monaco collection.

The new TAG Heuer Monaco Grand Prix de Monaco Historique Limited Edition features the race’s red-and-white color, but now includes a small silver classic car logo at the 1 o’clock position in honor of the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique race.

Additional race-imagery can be found on the caseback where TAG Heuer has printed the race’s logo on the inside of the transparent sapphire glass.

Inside, and visible through that caseback, TAG Heuer fits its in-house Caliber Heuer 02 chronograph movement, featuring a column wheel and a vertical clutch. The movement also offers an unusually long 80-hour power reserve. The new watch is to be made in a limited edition of 1,000, each of which is engraved with its unique number and the words “One of 1000”.

As is often the case with its limited editions, TAG Heuer is placing the new watch in its a themed package, which in this case is a red watch box decorated with a checkered racing flag. The new watch is available for pre-orders via www.tagheuer.com and in select TAG Heuer boutiques before its launch on July 27, 2020.

A scene from an earlier running of the Monaco Grand Prix Historiques, which was canceled this year due to COVID-19 concerns.

TAG Heuer is the Official Sponsor and Timekeeper of the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique as well as the Official Watch of the Monaco Grand Prix and the Official Watch Partner of the Monaco Top Cars Collection museum.

Price: CHF 6,700 (or approximately $6,885)

Specifications: TAG Heuer Monaco Grand Prix de Monaco Historique Limited Edition

(Reference CBL2114.FC6486, limited to 1,000 watches)

MOVEMENT: TAG Heuer Automatic Caliber Heuer 02 Manufacture automatic chronograph, 33 jewels, balance oscillating at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz), 80-hour power reserve

FUNCTIONS: Chronograph with minutes and hours, permanent second indicator; date, hours, minutes; central chronograph seconds hand.

CASE: 39mm fine-brushed and polished steel, fixed bezel, sapphire crystal with Grand Prix de Monaco Historique logo printing on the back, polished stainless-steel crown at 3 o’clock and push buttons at 2 and 4 o’clock, water-resistant to 100 meters, stainless-steel case back with limited-edition number engraving.

DIAL: Rhodium-plated red sunray brushed dial, rhodium-plated indexes and hour and minute hands with white SuperLuminova, red lacquered central hand, Grand Prix de Monaco Historique logo at 1 o’clock on the dial.

STRAP: Black calfskin leather strap, folding clasp in polished stainless steel

 

 

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Featured News

IWC Expands Portugieser for 2020

For 2020, IWC Schaffhausen is updating and expanding its Portugieser collection, focusing on equipping the entire collection with in-house calibers while also re-emphasizing the design’s nautical history.

Among the highlights: a smaller (40mm) Portugieser Automatic model, a smaller diameter (42mm) perpetual calendar, additional examples of the Portugieser Chronograph newly set with an in-house caliber, a new Yacht Club watch with a moonphase display, plus an all-new edition of the watch with a tide indicator. In addition, IWC added several complicated Portugieser watches that combine a tourbillon with a perpetual calendar and a chronograph.  

The new IWC Portugieser Automatic Chronograph, also available with green dial or with blue dial (on gold Boutique model).

New Chronographs

The Portugieser Chronograph (Ref. 3716), long a best seller for IWC, is newly equipped in the standard version with the IWC in-house 69355 caliber and a clear sapphire-glass back. The two stainless-steel models ($7,950), one with deep green dial and one glowing in deep ‘claret’ red, are equipped with the newly developed folding butterfly clasp. A third model, elegant in 5N gold, (Ref IW371614, $17,800) features a blue dial, gold markers and gold hands. 

The new Portugieser Automatic 40 (Ref. 3583) is fit with IWC-manufactured Caliber 82200.

Automatic, now at 40mm

The Portugieser Automatic 40 (Ref. 3583) marks the return to the collection of the three-hand design with the small seconds at 6 o’clock. You’ll find it now in a compact case with a 40-millimetre diameter–and bearing the collection’s entry price of $7,250. The new automatic model gets its power from the IWC-manufactured 82200 caliber with Pellaton winding. Four versions are available in 18-karat 5N gold or stainless steel cases.

IWC Portugieser Automatic, 40mm

A fifth Portugieser Automatic, in a larger (42mm) case, sports its power reserve display and small seconds on the dial and will be offered as either a gold-cased boutique edition (blue dial, $23,900) or with a the same rich red dial ($12,700) found on the new Portugieser Chronographs. These offer a longer power reserve than the 40mm models (up to seven days) thanks to their larger case diameter, which allows space for two winding barrels.

IWC Portugieser Automatic 42 (boutique Edition), with seven-day power reserve.

The new IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42 (Ref. 3442).

Smaller Perpetual

IWC adds its own in-house caliber 82650 with 60-hour power reserve to the Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42 (Ref. 3442). Thanks to the new movement, IWC was able to case it in a smaller 42mm diameter size (above). This could be the sleeper hit given its moderate starting price ($22,900) and full, easy-to-read perpetual functionality. All the displays are perfectly synchronized with each other and can be adjusted with a quick turn of the crown. In this version of the calendar, the displays for the date, month and day of the week are seen in three subdials.

This new IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar (Boutique Edition) features a 44mm diameter & displays the calendar information on four subdials and it has a four-digit year display, a small seconds hand and a power reserve display.

Also look for a boutique 5N gold edition of the classic 44mm Portugieser Perpetual Calendar ($37,900, above). This model, with a nautical design, features a blue dial and shows the year in four digits–a feature IWC pioneered with its earlier Kurt Klaus-designed perpetual calendars starting in 1985.  Thanks to its slightly larger dimensions of the boutique edition, the movement has room for two barrels that offer a power reserve of seven days.

Yacht Club

Three new Portugieser Yacht Club watches combine a 44mm diameter with a recognizable Yacht Club bezel shape, flat casing ring and very useful flyback function.

The new IWC Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph.

The Portugieser Yacht Club Moon & Tide (Ref. 344001) is the first watch from IWC to feature the newly developed tide display.

One, the Portugieser Yacht Club Moon & Tide (Ref. 344001, $33,100) is the first watch from IWC to feature a newly developed tide display, which shows the expected times of the next high and low water. The Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph (Ref. 3907, starting at $13,100) comes with either a stainless-steel bracelet or a two-tone bracelet in stainless steel and 18-karat 5N gold.

 

By the mid-1970s, the Yacht Club had established itself as one of the most successful models ever manufactured by IWC.

 IWC will ship more of the Yacht Club models to its boutiques, including those with expanded maritime-inspired colors (blue and gold). These are identifiable with their blue dials, braided blue calfskin straps and cases in 18-karat 5N gold or 18-karat Armor Gold. The latter is a new alloy that demonstrates a higher hardness value than traditional 5N gold alloys.

IWC History: In 2003 IWC launched the Portugieser Perpetual Calendar (Reference 5021).

Complications

Two watches in the new collection underscore IWC’s expertise at the high end. These are the new Portugieser Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph (Ref. 3940, starting at CHF 105,000), which combines a tourbillon with a retrograde date display and chronograph, and the Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon (Ref. 5045, starting at CHF 115,000) that combines a tourbillon and perpetual calendar.

The Portugieser Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph (Ref. 3940) combines a flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock with a retrograde date display at 9 o’clock and a chronograph.
The Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon IW504504 boutique edition with 18-karat Armor Gold case, blue dial, gold-plated hands, gold appliqués, blue calfskin strap.
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Watch Of The Day

Audemars Piguet Re-masters a Vintage Chronograph

 

The new Audemars Piguet [Re]master01 Selfwinding Chronograph is a reinterpretation of a 1943 Audemars Piguet chronograph. Now with a larger (40mm) two-tone steel and 40mm pink gold case, the new watch retains the original’s olive-shaped pushers, steel lugs and champagne dial.

Art Deco numerals enhance the vintage aspect, as do the pink gold hour, minute and seconds hands, blue chronograph hands and a blue transferred tachymetric scale. For 2020, Audemars Piguet has rearranged the chronograph counters, but retains the original watch’s 4/5 indication above the 15 minutes mark inside the 30-minutes counter at 9 o’clock to allow the wearer to record up to 45 minutes.

The watch’s sapphire caseback reveals the integrated flyback chronograph with column wheel (Caliber 4409) and the 22-karat pink gold oscillating weight, displaying its satin-brushed and decorated “Clous de Paris” decoration.

Audemars Piguet includes two straps with the watch, including a light brown hand-stitched calfskin strap and an additional dark brown alligator strap. Price: $53,100 (limited to 500 pieces).

Specifications: Audemars Piguet [Re]master01 Selfwinding Chronograph 40 mm

FUNCTIONS: 
Flyback chronograph, hours, minutes and small seconds.

CASE: 40mm steel case and lugs, 18-karat pink gold bezel, crown and push pieces, glare-proofed sapphire crystal and caseback, water-resistant to 20 meters.

MOVEMENT: Selfwinding Manufacture caliber 4409

DIAL: 
Yellow gold-toned dial, blue tachymetric scale, pink gold hour, minute and seconds hands, blue chronograph hands.

STRAP: 
Hand-stitched light brown calfskin strap with stainless steel pin buckle. Additional brown alligator strap.

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