The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante

Presented in 2021, the Tonda PF collection is Parmigiani Fleurier’s take on the luxury sports watch with an integrated bracelet. The classic Tonda was designed years ago by Michel Parmigiani and with the PF, the collection went through a tasteful facelift,marking the first collection released with Guido Terreni at the helm. As such, it embodies the vision of offering subtle, understated luxury. Although some brands create rugged, technical or loud sports watches, Parmigiani Fleurier does things differently. The singularity of Tonda PF lies in a distinctive perception of elegance centred on discreet style and refined craftsmanship… Its artful simplicity is now enhanced with the Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante, an original and elegant take on the dual-time watch.

The Tonda PF collection stands out with a distinct personality, deriving its originality from a sleek silhouette and a mix of hallmark Parmigiani Fleurier codes such as a knurled bezel teardrop-shaped lugs, a seamlessly integrated bracelet, a grain d’orge (barleycorn) guilloché dial with short applied gold indices and delta-shaped skeletonised hands. For Guido Terreni and his team, the challenge in adding a second time zone to the model was to come with a practical reinterpretation of this popular function in the Parmigiani way, respecting the understated style and the minimalism of the time-and-date model.

With the Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante, their idea has been to use two superimposed hour hands; one is rhodium-plated gold and shows the local time; the other is 18k rose gold and displays the home time (on 12 hours with no AP/PM indication). When arriving in a different time zone, the pusher at 8 o’clock allows you to adjust the local time in one-hour increments. Once your trip has ended and the reading of the second time zone is no longer needed, the push-piece coaxial to the crown is used to bring back this local time hour hand together with the home time – hence its name rattrapante as the local time catches up the home time. If needed, the following video will make things clearer:

So when you don’t need anything related to travel-time indications, the Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante is just a simple, discreet and elegant two-hand watch, just like the classic automatic ultra-thin version. Actually, it becomes even sleeker, as there is no date indication on the dial. From a technical perspective, this clever take on the GMT function is made possible by a mechanism bringing coaxially a 12-hour star wheel and a heart-shaped cam (to perform the resetting job, just like for a chronograph).

The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante is presented in a moderately sized steel case that will fit most wrists, with a 40mm diameter and a 10.7mm thickness. It is finished with contrasting polished and satin-brushed areas to underscore its sophisticated architecture. The knurled bezel is made of 950 platinum, while the crown’s push-piece is 18k rose gold. The minimalist Milano blue dial is adorned with an extremely fine grain d’orge guilloché pattern, with the brand’s oval PF logo applied at 12 o’clock. It is paired with skeletonized delta-shaped hands.

Turning the watch over, the exhibition caseback reveals the automatic calibre PF051 finished with Côtes de Genève and perlage and a 22k rose gold micro-rotor adorned with a guilloche pattern. The frequency is 3Hz and the power reserve is 48 hours. It is based on one of the most enduring movements of the brand, which has been seen in the past within the classic Tonda watches.

On the wrist, the Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante wears pleasantly thanks to its moderate size, comfortable integrated bracelet and ergonomic lugs. The tapered three-link bracelet is fitted with a folding buckle. Just like for the rest of the watch, the finishing is impeccable throughout and radiates expert craftsmanship.

Availability & Price

The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante (reference PFC905-1020001-100182) retails for CHF 26,000. The watch is planned to land at retailers during summer 2022. The brand reports that the orders taken during Watches and Wonders exceed by far the production capacity, so the availability might not be immediate.

For more details, please visit parmigiani.com.