Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda Métropolitaine Reine de Mai

Parmigiani Fleurier continues to showcase its dedication to métiers d’art and high watchmaking with the launch of the Tonda Reine de Mai collection. Inspired by the bucolic landscape in Switzerland surrounding its manufactures and the flowers found there, it combines Parmigiani Fleurier’s commitment to in-house manufacturing, fine finishings, and artistry. Nature and the beauty of the golden ratio are enduring sources of inspiration, and the Manufacture uses a wide array of artistic techniques to bring them to life in this release, including hand-chiseling, hand-diamond-setting, hand-polishing, hand-sandblasting, and marquetry.

The Tonda Reine de Mai features a beautiful bouquet of mother-of-pearl, rose gold, and diamond-set flowers, akin to the snow-white Daisy May buds often seen into late Summer. Machined to achieve their perfect shape, they are finished by hand before being placed atop a white mother-of-pearl dial comprised of 23 different marquetry elements. The six mother-of-pearl flowers are particularly challenging to decorate, as the material is quite delicate and fragile. The base of each flower is sandblasted by hand; then, each petal is polished and engraved by expert artisan hands resulting in varied matte and polished finishings that give more depth and dimension. The dial features an additional six Daisy May flowers, three in rose gold with alternating polished and engraved petals, and three in white gold and handset with 117 diamonds. This brilliance and texture give subtle depth to the unique dial making it seem as if the flowers overlap like they would in nature. Each dial takes 24 hours to craft and requires the work of many artisans skilled in different métiers d’art. This version is limited to five pieces, and each dial is slightly different as the bouquet is placed at different angles on each one.