Legendary Watchmaker Michel Parmigiani Celebrates 70th Birthday With New Watch

Today Michel Parmigiani is celebrating his 70th birthday. Born in the Swiss canton of Neuchatel, he developed a passion for watchmaking at a very early age. His career choice was obvious, but the path he followed was clearly against the stream. Parmigiani already showed great promise at the Val-de-Travers watchmaking school. This allowed him to start his career in one of the most demanding fields of watchmaking; restauration.

The challenge with restoring vintage clocks, (pocket)watches, and automatons is on several levels. First, there is no manual, so watchmakers working on these pieces have to re-invent them more often than not. Spare-parts are also not available, so these have to be made as well. As everything needs to be period correct, watchmakers like Parmigiani also had to learn skills and make their own tools to craft these parts just as when the object was created. Despite these challenges, Parmigiani not only excelled at it, but he also enjoyed it to the fullest. “It is a rare joy to restore a horological piece,” says Michel Parmigiani. “To free it from the ravages of time and of men is to reinstate it within a temporal truth so essential to our memory.”

In 1976, with the quartz crisis wreaking havoc in the Swiss watchmaking industry, Parmigiani decided to take the jump and start a restoration workshop of its own. His reputation, based on his extraordinary skills and craftsmanship, grew fast. Among his clients were some of the leading brands in the industry, including the Patek Philippe museum. Another client was the Sandoz Family Foundation, which has a stunning collection of very important historical clocks and automata. With their support, Parmigiani was ready to take the next step in his career by setting up a brand of his own.

In 1996 Parmigiani launched the Toric, the first watch with his name on it. It would become a classic in his collection, one that was subtly redesigned in 2017. To mark his 70th birthday, a special edition of this watch, not surprisingly limited to 70 pieces, is introduced. It is the perfect example of restrained elegance, with a 42.8mm large stainless steel case, which is only 10mm thick. The dial has a stunning color blue with a Grain d’Orge guilloché engraving. This same engraving can be found on the 22ct gold oscillating weight, which is powering manufacture caliber PF441. With two series-coupled barrels, this watch has a power reserve of 55 hours and features a spectacular finish of hand-beveled bridges and Crossed “Côtes de Genève.” A fitting tribute to mark the 70th birthday of a true master.