Parmigiani’s Tonda Métro at Musée de l’Elysée

Killing two birds with one stone. In life there are some delightfully magical moments and we have to make the most of them. Take the vibrant evening at Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne, organized by the brand from Fleurier. Jean-Marc Jacot, Parmigiani watches’ General Manager, highlighted that Parmigiani is a young company but it’s already making history. In order to make this history all-encompassing, the brand needs to find its bearings in the world of arts.

Jacot reveals, “having made several attempts at sponsorship, we wanted to find a partnership in the field of art and that is how we came upon Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne. Our encounter was almost romantic – we found an instant connection: photography is an international art and therefore it suits Parmigiani’s philosophy perfectly”.

Museum activities in the service of photography

The museum’s representative reminded us that the mission of its institution is to support photographers’ careers. Organizing exhibitions is thus essential as they are not only intended for a local public but are also presented in New York, Singapore, and Kuwait, to name only three places. It goes without saying that one of the main goals of the museum is to preserve documents and add value to them. Nowadays, the museum owns more than 100,000 photographic documents hailing from all periods and sources. This second activity greatly emphasizes the museum’s significant editorial policy. Indeed, once the museum has helped young photographers, it further supports them by publishing their work.

Furthermore, in order to foster the museum’s popular side ­­­­­­–  in the good sense of the term –  the general public is invited every summer to free projections of images in the Elysee’s gardens. Over 10,000 people come to Lausanne to attend the events.

This first collaboration served to consecrate an extraordinary exhibition by the great American photographer Philippe Halsmann. The title of the exhibition is “Amaze me!” Well, don’t waste a second, because you can bet you will be amazed when you discover these true photographic wonders.

The Tonda Métro collection: a new target

Jean-Marc Jacot also stated that Parmigiani is pondering its future and in order to be able to talk about the future one needs to understand the present. The present tells us that Parmigiani is a brand which attracts a wealthy but discreet audience. In other words, its clients are people of a certain age who do not feel the need to talk about their watches on every occasion. Jean-Marc Jacot explained that the Fleurier-based maison now wishes to expand its target audience by trying to win over people aged between 25 and 40 who have already experienced professional success. They would be the perfect candidates to buy relatively pricey watches.

Until now, Parmigiani has not really reached this audience, hence the decision to design, exclusively for them, a watch collection with a cooler, more relaxed flair. Concerning price, these watches – all of them in steel as the brand has decided not to use gold in this series – will be in the price range of CHF 8,000 to CHF13,000. These are watches that can be worn throughout the day and also at night when going to the theatre or to the opera.

This is a decidedly urban collection which according to the brand: “[…] is a range of men’s and women’s watches conceived for urbanites with a true metropolitan spirit. A city’s heart never stops beating, and the life found there is so full of potential and possibilities that any dream can become a reality. It is also an anonymous life, which can be either a blessing or a curse, and in the midst of the crowd, each man and woman is on an endless quest for a mark of exclusivity or distinction. The Métrographe watch for men and the Métropolitaine for women are hard to describe but, as they adorn the wrists of busy city dwellers, they live and breathe every minute of the day”

A visual identity of its own

We can’t possibly give details of each watch in this collection here, but we can detail their visual identity. Each watch with the Métro label is a round steel timepiece that stands out due to its long proportions (both the men’s and women’s versions). They are urban, modern watches which differ from the classics in the Tonda 1950 collection in that the former are thinner. Actually, both the Caliber 3000 movement and the case have been carefully studied in order to produce a slim and refined case middle.

The subtlety of this Tonda Métro collection ­–  a small imbalance which gives it more character ­–  lies in the fact that each watch is asymmetrical, that is, it has two different profiles. The left profile, devoid of a crown, is classic, conventional and keeps the iconic teardrop shape of the brand. In contrast, its right profile features long lugs that extend to the crown reaching around to cover the chronograph push-pieces on the men’s version.

The aesthetics of the dials in this collection build on contrasts to emphasize a specific aspect of the timepiece. In the case of the Métrographe, said aspect is the chronograph complication which is highlighted thanks to its two minute and hour counters.

The counters are grey and they are put into relief by a snail plate for a white-grained dial. For the black dial, the superluminova creates a phosphorescence that outlines them during the day and that makes them shine at night. The two counters form a slanted 8, a characteristic sign of Parmigiani.

Femininity and curves are outlined to soften the modern lines of the ladies’ watch Métropolitaine. “Flinquées” finishes, in the shape of undulating waves, oppose the long case middle. The numbers and indexes are in cabochon; they are curvy and in relief over a bi-dimensional plan governed by straight lines. Of course, all the watches in this collection are equipped with self-winding mechanical movements.

Life magazine cover by Philippe Halsman