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Thursday, August 20, 2026

From Soft Violet to a disappearing chronograph: Parmigiani Fleurier’s new watches for 2026

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A 50-piece Soft Violet collaboration with Sincere Fine Watches joins two anniversary timepieces that showcase Parmigiani Fleurier’s technical ingenuity and traditional craft.

In partnership with Sincere Fine Watches

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20 Aug 2026 06:01AM

The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Automatic 36mm Soft Violet SHH Edition is the latest timepiece to feature one of the Swiss manufacture’s most exclusive dial colours. First unveiled last year on the Toric Petite Seconde SHH Taiwan Edition, Soft Violet now appears on a 36mm model created in collaboration with Sincere Fine Watches. Limited to 50 pieces, the watch arrives as pastel hues continue to make their mark on contemporary watchmaking, offering a refreshing contrast to the more conservative tones traditionally associated with dress watches.

The Soft Violet hue may catch the eye first, but much of the dial’s character comes from Parmigiani Fleurier’s signature Grain d’Orge, or barleycorn, guilloche. The intricate engine-turned pattern gives the surface depth, revealing shades of rich violet, cool blue and lavender as the light shifts. Purple has long been associated with prosperity, prestige and nobility, yet here the colour remains relatively understated. Combined with the guilloche, it gives the dial a richness that changes subtly with the light.

Beyond the new dial, the watch remains unmistakably Tonda PF. Its 36mm stainless steel case and bracelet are proportioned to suit a wide range of wrists, moving beyond the traditional distinction between men’s and women’s watches. The polished and satin-brushed case is framed by the collection’s signature hand-knurled platinum bezel, while slim rhodium-plated gold indices and skeletonised delta-shaped hands keep the dial clean and uncluttered.

The detailing continues on the reverse. Developed specifically for the 36mm Tonda PF, the in-house PF770 automatic calibre beats at 4Hz and offers a 60-hour power reserve. Visible through the exhibition caseback are bevelled bridges, Cotes de Geneve decoration and a skeletonised 22k rose gold oscillating weight. Each caseback is engraved “One of Fifty”.

THE CHRONOGRAPH THAT DISAPPEARS

The 50-piece limited edition Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Automatic 36mm Soft Violet SHH Edition. (Photo: Parmigiani Fleurier)
The exhibition caseback of the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Automatic 36mm Soft Violet SHH Edition. (Photo: Parmigiani Fleurier)

The Soft Violet edition is not Parmigiani Fleurier’s only notable release this year. As the independent Swiss manufacture marks its 30th anniversary in 2026, it has unveiled two watches that showcase its mechanical innovation and traditional craftsmanship. One introduces a new chronograph architecture, while the other revisits the split-seconds chronograph, one of haute horlogerie’s most demanding complications.

The Tonda PF Chronographe Mysterieux takes a different approach to the chronograph by concealing its timing functions when they are not in use. At first glance, it appears to be an elegant three-hand watch. Press the integrated monopusher and the hidden chronograph reveals itself, disappearing again once timing is complete.

It is a deceptively simple idea, but one that changes how a chronograph is displayed and experienced. Conventional chronographs typically use subdials or additional hands to show elapsed time, inevitably adding more information to the dial. Parmigiani Fleurier instead asked whether the complication could remain invisible until needed. Its answer was the PF053, a movement developed specifically to make the chronograph functions appear and disappear on demand.

Beneath the visual trick is an unusually complex mechanism. The integrated column-wheel movement uses a triple-clutch system – one vertical clutch and two horizontal clutches – to coordinate five coaxial hands at the centre of the dial. At rest, the 40mm watch appears to have just three hands.

The Parmigiani Fleurier Chronographe Mysterieux with a Mineral Blue guilloche dial. (Photo: Parmigiani Fleurier)

Press the monopusher integrated into the caseband between 7 and 8 o’clock, and three rhodium-plated chronograph hands fly back to 12 o’clock before beginning to measure elapsed hours, minutes and seconds. The rose gold hour and minute hands meanwhile continue displaying the time.

A second press stops the chronograph. A third returns the watch to its original state: rather than resetting to zero, the chronograph hands align with the rose gold timekeeping hands and disappear beneath them. The dial is once again reduced to the appearance of a three-hand watch. The mechanism relies on precisely synchronised clutches, mechanical memory and energy management.

Despite its mechanical complexity, the Chronographe Mysterieux retains the restrained design of the Tonda PF collection. Its Mineral Blue dial features Parmigiani Fleurier’s Grain d’Orge guilloche, with the engine-turned pattern revealing blue and aquamarine tones as the light changes. A knurled platinum bezel frames the dial, while the polished and satin-brushed stainless steel bracelet integrates into the case.

The Parmigiani Fleurier Chronographe Mysterieux with the chronograph function activated. (Photo: Parmigiani Fleurier)

Visible through the sapphire caseback, the PF053 comprises 362 components, beats at 4Hz and has a 60-hour power reserve. Its openworked, satin-finished and bevelled bridges are paired with a skeletonised 22k rose gold oscillating weight finished with polished and sandblasted surfaces.

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

If the Chronographe Mysterieux looks forward, the Toric Chronographe Rattrapante turns to Parmigiani Fleurier’s roots. Part of the Toric 30th Anniversary trilogy alongside the Petite Seconde and Quantieme Perpetuel, it revisits the collection from which the manufacture’s first wristwatch emerged in 1996. Each reference is limited to 30 pieces.

The split-seconds chronograph, or rattrapante, is one of watchmaking’s more technically demanding complications. Designed to time two events that begin together but end separately, it uses a second chronograph hand that can be stopped independently before catching up with the primary hand. Rather than reinventing the complication, Parmigiani Fleurier has refined its execution through classical chronograph architecture, contemporary proportions and detailed finishing.

The 30-piece limited edition Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Chronographe Rattrapante with a hand-hammered dial in Agave Blue. (Photo: Parmigiani Fleurier)

Powering the watch is the in-house PF361, a hand-wound, fully integrated split-seconds chronograph movement executed in 18k rose gold. Beating at 5Hz, or 36,000 vibrations per hour, it can measure elapsed time to one-tenth of a second. The 285-component movement uses twin column wheels and has a 65-hour power reserve, while its openworked construction reveals polished steel chronograph components against rose gold bridges.

The dial perhaps best captures the spirit of the anniversary collection. Made from hand-hammered white gold, it requires some 60 individual operations, with a single artisan creating minute variations in texture through a succession of precise hammer strikes. On the Chronographe Rattrapante, the Agave Blue dial contrasts with the platinum case and signature knurled bezel, while azure-finished counters add further texture. The result reflects Parmigiani Fleurier’s emphasis on traditional metiers d’art alongside mechanical innovation.

Housed in a 42.5mm platinum case with the Toric’s signature knurled bezel, the Chronographe Rattrapante is paired with a double-sided alligator strap with a semi-matte finish and traditional Neapolitan stitching. It is a restrained sartorial detail that fits Parmigiani Fleurier’s philosophy of “Private Luxury” – an emphasis on craftsmanship and details intended to be appreciated up close.

The sapphire caseback of the Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Chronographe Rattrapante. (Photo: Parmigiani Fleurier)

The Toric anniversary collection also draws on Michel Parmigiani’s roots as a restorer. Before establishing Parmigiani Fleurier in 1996, he built his reputation restoring important historical timepieces, an experience that continues to influence the manufacture. Rather than treating restoration and innovation as opposing ideas, Parmigiani Fleurier sees one as informing the other. The Toric Chronographe Rattrapante brings those threads together, pairing a classical split-seconds chronograph with traditional hand craftsmanship in a collection that traces its roots to the manufacture’s beginnings.

The 50-piece Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Automatic 36mm Soft Violet SHH Edition, Tonda PF Chronographe Mysterieux and 30-piece Toric Chronographe Rattrapante are available at Sincere Fine Watches, #02-12A/B/C, Takashimaya SC, and SHH (Sincere Haute Horlogerie), #B2M-202, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.

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