Elite Traveler September-October 2017

DISCOVER

elite traveler SEPT/OCT 2017 34

Romain Gauthier’s Insight Micro-Rotor is as stunningly beautiful as it is impressively functional

Romain Gauthier’s First Automatic Watch

BRAND PROFILE PARMIGIANI FLEURIER

One of the younger brands in high watchmaking, Parmigiani Fleurier was founded in 1996 by Michel Parmigiani and the Sandoz Family Foundation. Evolving from a small company focusing on table clocks and unique pieces into a vertically-integrated manufacturer that designs, creates and manufactures 99 percent of every single component of its 33 movements in-house, it has become a favorite of discerning collectors for its sometimes unusual complications and its distinctive style. Available at Parmigiani Fleurier inMiami Design District, contact Brunno Paciotti, storemanager, bruno.paciotti@parmigiani.com, Its oval shape, unusual in watchmaking, houses the first watch in the world to have a tourbillon with a central second hand, which requires much more power. The hypnotic dial is in a proprietary Abyss Blue color and is decorated with Côtes de Genève. The watch boasts a seven-day power reserve and is limited to 50 pieces. $195,000 2. Tonda 1950 Lune +1 786 615 9656, parmigiani.com 1. Ovale TourbillonAbyss Blue

Today, thinness seems to be king. Everywhere from watches to smartphones, becoming thinner and thinner is an eternal quest, and often brands are forced to sacrifice one of the most essential components to achieve this: power. And without power, both are just pretty objects.

elegant finishings that adhere to haute horlogerie standards, perhaps most striking of which are the hand-frosted bridges with hand-polished bevels. Insight Micro-Rotor in platinum with blue enamel dial, limited to 10 pieces, $92,000, contact Steven Rogers, s.rogers@

bidirectional micro-rotor is visible dial-side and provides up to 80 hours of power reserve, meaning you can take it off on Friday night and put it back on Monday morning without having to set the time. Available in several metal and dial combinations, our favorite is the platinum case with vivid blue enamel dial. All versions boast

In horology, the number of hours of available power reserve and how the watch is wound are of

This sleek steel watch features a black opaline dial with black alligator strap, providing a vivid contrast to the moonphase dial at 12 o’clock. It shows the moon cycle in both hemispheres with rose discs representing the lunar cycle. It’s extremely accurate — the scale is calibrated for the lunar month and it only needs to be corrected once every three years. At 6 o’clock, a seconds subdial with date aperture balances the watch. $12,900 3. Toric The first watch Parmigiani designed for his brand was the Toric Memory Time, and he’s continued to expand on the iconic case —which takes inspiration from the golden spiral and Doric columns — in some of his most complicated timepieces. The knurled bezel is distinctive and is created by a single craftsman, as it is an uncommon and difficult skill. This is the first chronometer

crucial importance. Some people love the feeling of

winding their own watches, and others dislike the task and would much prefer a self-winding timepiece. With a short power reserve, you’re constantly resetting the time or traveling with a watch winder. While Romain Gauthier has always searched for and created the most efficient winding systems possible — see his brilliant Logical One with a winding pusher integrated into the caseband and Prestige HMS Ten with a flat crown on the caseback —until now his collection did not have an automatic timepiece. In the new, beautifully finished Insight Micro-Rotor, a 22K solid gold

romaingauthier.com, romaingauthier.com

in the Toric collection, it is COSC-certified and has a 55-hour power reserve. $18,500

Right: Each Insight Micro-Rotor watch is crafted to the exacting standards you’d expect