Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Resounding Beauty of the Parmigiani Fleurier La Ravenale Minute Repeater
Parmigiani Fleurier wishes Michel Parmigiani a Happy 75th Birthday with the one-off La Ravenale minute-repeater pocket watch.
After years of restoring antique timepieces, the Sandoz Family Foundation encouraged Michel Parmigiani to create his own brand. With a Proustian reverence for the past, Michel Parmigiani’s restoration experience instilled in him a profound admiration for the art of traditional watchmaking and has been the cornerstone of his watchmaking adventure. In 1996, the doors of Parmigiani Fleurier were opened in the sleepy mountain town of Le Fleurier and the world was treated to Michel Parmigiani’s exquisite vision of watchmaking. In the hands of CEO Guido Terreni since 2021, the brand pays tribute to its founder with a special watch created to celebrate his birthday on 2 December. Following the superb one-off Rose Carrée to celebrate the brand’s 25th anniversary and Michel Parmigiani’s 70th birthday, his 75th birthday is feted with La Ravenale, a stunning Lépine pocket watch with a restored minute repeater calibre from the 1920s, decorated with hand-engraved motifs and refined stone marquetry.
An admirer of ancient Greek architecture, sculpture and mathematics, Michel Parmigiani’s creations are guided by the Golden Ratio, a mathematical constant that appears in nature, art and geometry. A prime example of the Golden Ratio found in nature is the Traveller’s Palm of Madagascar (Ravenala madagascariensis) with its perfectly symmetrical, fan-shaped leaves. Named after this exotic palm, the pocket watch is hand-engraved with a series of palm-shaped motifs on the movement bridges, the dial, and the 18k white gold case. The engraving has been entrusted to Atelier Blandenier, one of the last workshops devoted to hand-engraved finishes for haute horlogerie.
La Ravenale also reflects the dedication, discipline and consummate elegance of Michel Parmigiani’s creations. Paying homage to his long career in restoration, the ultra-thin 1920s minute repeater movement is signed Ed. Koehn, Genève and was brought to life at PF’s in-house restoration atelier. Selected from Michel Parmigiani’s private stock of antique movements, the restoration required months of work.
Discreetly integrated into the case, the slide that activates the chiming mechanism strikes the hours, quarters, and minutes with two distinct tones: a low note for the hours, a high note for the minutes, and a blend of both for the quarters. The Lépine construction enhances resonance by opening the internal volume and allowing vibrations to resonate with clarity.
The 51.8mm white gold case has a hinged caseback engraved with a series of overlapping, symmetrical patterns inspired by the Madagascar palm, and embellished with iridescent opal and light green jade marquetry. True to its 1920s repeater movement, the white gold case with its alternating geometric engravings has a sophisticated Art Deco air. The crown at noon and the extremities of the bridge attaching the pocket watch to the chain are set with blue sapphires.
With no sign whatsoever of a minute repeater mechanism, the dial displays the hours, minutes, and small seconds. Crafted in white gold, the dial references the more recent Tonda PF collection, with engraved palm motifs (instead of the signature grain d’orge guilloché), a serene blue PVD colour, white gold delta-shaped openworked hands, hand-applied gold indices, and the gold oval PF cartouche at noon.
Last but not least, the 18k white gold chain with hexagonal and oval links was created by Laurent Jollier, Switzerland’s last chain-maker. Forged entirely by hand, the 32cm chain took 100 hours to complete. A unique piece, the price of La Ravenale is upon request. More information at parmigiani.com.
