With the Trilogy of Platinum Cultural Calendars, Parmigiani Fleurier presents three timepieces displaying three different calendars: Gregorian, Islamic and Chinese. This exceptional trilogy, made in platinum, is issued in a strictly limited edition of three box sets.
Parmigiani Fleurier TONDA Retrograde Gregorian Calendar
The Parmigiani Fleurier TONDA Gregorian Calendar displays a retrograde Gregorian calendar and a precision moon phase.
It houses an annual calendar complication based on the Gregorian calendar and the wearers need to adjust their watch only once a year.
The retrograde date indication never hinders the reading of the moon phases at 6 o’clock. To ensure perfect clarity, the day of the week and the month are indicated in separate apertures at 9 and 3 o’clock respectively.
The precision moon phase of the TONDA Gregorian Calendar requires only one correction every 122 years. This remarkable accuracy involves compensating for the discrepancy between a classic lunar cycle (29 days and 12 hours) and the real lunar cycle (29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 2.8 seconds).
The TONDA Gregorian Calendar displays two depictions of the Moon – viewed from the Earth’s Northern and Southern hemispheres – so as to match any wearer’s geographical location. The moon subdial and moon lozenges in solid rose gold stand out against an aventurine glass sky that poetically evokes the twinkling of a star-filled galaxy.
The Gregorian calendar is the successor to the Julian calendar. Until 1582, Christendom used the Julian calendar instituted by Julius Caesar and based on the assumption that the length of the tropical year (the time between two transits of the Sun at the vernal point) is exactly 365.25 days.
However, the actual length of the year is 365.24219 days, so that the recurrent events represented the equinoxes and solstices were moved forward by one day every 128 years: around the year 1500 CE, the spring equinox occurred ten days earlier than in ancient times, on 11 March instead of 21 March.
In addition, the calculation of the date of Easter, which involves the Moon, had become completely wrong. The Council of Trent therefore commissioned Pope Gregory XIII to redress the situation.
With the help of scholars Christopher Clavius and Aloisius Lilius, he first removed ten days, so that the day after Thursday 4 October 1582 would be Friday 15 October. He then decided to eliminate three leap years in four centuries: only the century years divisible by 400 would remain leap years: this meant that 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not leap years, whereas 2000 was.
This solution proved satisfactory and the Gregorian calendar, while not immediately adopted by all countries, is now used around the world, although some religions and societies retain their own calendar for ritual reasons.
The TONDA Gregorian Calendar houses the Calibre PF339 specially developed by the Manufacture and housing a retrograde Gregorian calendar and a precision moon phase.
Technical details
Model: TONDA Retrograde Gregorian Calendar in Platinum, Reference PFK999-2020001-200182, Parmigiani Fleurier Cultural Calendars Trilogy Set
Case
Polished and satin-finished platinum 950 with knurled bezel
Diameter: 42 mm
Thickness: 11.1 mm
Crown: Ø 6 mm, screwed-in
Glass: ARunic anti-reflective sapphire
Case back: sapphire glass
Engraving on case back: serial number – “PARMIGIANI FLEURIER” – “Edition Limitée de 3 pièces”
Water resistance: 100 m
Dial
Material: Platinum 950
Finishing: Sandblasted
Indices: Hand-applied 18ct gold rhodium-plated appliques
Moon phase: Blue aventurine
Hands
Hours and minutes: 18ct gold rhodium-plated skeletonized delta-shaped
Calendar and seconds: Rhodium-plated steel
Movement
Calibre PF339
Automatic winding manufacture movement with retrograde Gregorian calendar and precision moon phase
Power reserve: 50 hours
Frequency: 28,800 Vph (4 Hz)
Jewels: 32
No. of components: 359
Total diameter: 30.6 mm
Thickness: 5.5 mm
Decoration: Côtes de Genève, beveled edges, Perlage
Oscillating weight: Platinum, skeletonized, polished and sandblasted
Functions
Hours, minutes, seconds, retrograde Gregorian calendar and precision moon phase
Bracelet
Polished and satin-finished platinum 950
Closure: 18ct white gold folding clasp
Parmigiani Fleurier TONDA PF XIALI Calendar
The traditional Chinese calendar uses extremely complex calculations yet serve to keep track of the seasons and to set the Chinese New Year at the arrival of spring, which varies between 21 January and 19 February. The Parmigiani Fleurier XIALI Calendar is based on this cultural calendar.
Unlike the Gregorian calendar, which names the months and numbers the years, the Chinese calendar names the lunar years and numbers the months. The names of the years are repeated on a sexagesimal (60-year) cycle, but the calendar including dates, days and months is calculated on the basis of astronomical observations and naturally varies. It is therefore impossible to make a Chinese perpetual calendar.
Parmigiani Fleurier’s creation goes as far as possible in offering the most complete form of the Chinese calendar. The numbering system of the time units is based on the combination of a decimal cycle with the ten Heavenly Stems and a duodecimal cycle with the twelve Earthly Branches.
The ten Heavenly Stems serve to designate the diagonal directions, the seasons, the elements – water, wood, metal, fire and earth – the planets, as well as colours, flavours and virtues.
The twelve Earthly Branches correspond to the signs of the zodiac: each of the twelve Branches is represented by an animal, which designates the years of the sexagesimal cycle and will influence the destiny and character of human beings born in that year.
All this corresponds to a wealth of complex information, which Parmigiani Fleurier has succeeded in condensing on a dial.
Hours and minutes, display of the month and its numbering, an additional month when applicable (displayed every three years), short month (29 days) or long month (30 days), twenty-four solar terms corresponding to twenty-four 15° divisions of the Sun’s path along the ecliptic (the Sun’s trajectory seen from the Earth), year hand and name, indication of the animal and the elements with alternating colours depending on whether it is Yin or Yang, numbering of the days and moon phases.
All the displays are quickly adjustable via the various correctors located on the two sides of the case middle.
It conceals an extremely sophisticated mechanism serving to display this information in classic Chinese characters.
As the Chinese calendar is not cyclical, the complication is mechanically programmed and covers a twelve-year period by means of a cam system. At the end of these twelve years, the watch must be reset for a new equivalent period. During this period, all information is provided without any need for intervention, as long as the watch does not stop.
If the watch does stop, corrections are made simply by correcting the day and month number, with a rapid corrector where necessary to facilitate corrections of long periods.
The highly complex Chinese calendar is a combination of a solar and a lunar calendar, calculated separately and then synchronised. This is done by adding an extra lunar month also called a leap or intercalary month. This 13th month is added approximately every three years to bring the two cycles back in sync. Finally, the Chinese calendar divides the solar year into 24 terms, or breaths, which symbolise the agricultural calendar.
Technical details
Model: TONDA PF XIALI Calendar in Platinum, Reference PFK999-2020001-200182, Parmigiani Fleurier Cultural Calendars Trilogy Set
Case
Polished and satin-finished platinum 950 with knurled bezel
Diameter: 42 mm
Thickness: 12.2 mm
Crown: Ø 6 mm, screwed-in
Glass: ARunic anti-reflective sapphire
Case back: Sapphire glass
Engraving on case back: Serial number – “PARMIGIANI FLEURIER” – “Edition Limitée de 3 pièces”
Water resistance: 100 m
Dial
Color: Platinum 950
Finishing: Sandblasted
Indices: 18ct gold rhodium-plated appliques
Moon phase: Blue aventurine
Hands
Hours and minutes: 18ct gold rhodium-plated skeleton delta-shaped
Calendar: Rhodium-plated steel
Movement
Calibre PF008
Automatic movement with complete Chinese calendar and moon phase indicator
Power reserve: 54 hours
Frequency: 28,800 Vph (4 Hz)
Jewels: 42
No. of components: 353
Diameter: 32.6 mm
Thickness: 6.9 mm
Decoration: Côtes de Genève, beveled bridges
Oscillating weight: Platinum, skeletonized, polished and sandblasted
Functions
Hours, minutes, Complete Chinese calendar and precision moon phase
Bracelet
Polished and satin-finished platinum 950
Closure: 18ct white gold folding clasp
Parmigiani Fleurier TONDA PF Hijri Perpetual Calendar
The origins of the Parmigiani Fleurier TONDA PF Hijri Perpetual Calendar wristwatch version date back to 2011, with the launch of a table clock inspired by a pocket watch displaying an Arabic calendar that was restored in the Manufacture’s workshops.
The expertise developed led the brand to develop the Hijri Islamic calendar wristwatch, a feat of miniaturisation that won the 2020 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) Innovation Prize.
In the Islamic world, the calendar is based on lunar cycles. The Islamic or Hijri lunar calendar consists of 12 months of 29 or 30 days – depending on the phase of the moon – and is used to identify Muslim festivals.
Known as the Hegira (meaning “flight), the prophet Muhammad’s escape in 622 CE from Mecca to Medina is the starting point for the calculation of Islamic time, representing the moment when the first Muslim community was founded.
Compared to the first version, the TONDA PF Hijri Perpetual Calendar has evolved to reflect the Maison’s new aesthetic codes. The case and knurled bezel are in 950 platinum, the platinum bracelet is seamlessly integrated and the sandblasted platinum dial bears solid gold hour-markers, logo and hands.
In terms of content, the movement designed and developed by Parmigiani Fleurier remains identical to that of the model awarded the GPHG prize in 2020.
The complete calendar information shows the hours, minutes, date in Arabic numerals, the name and length of the months in Arabic calligraphy, the days of the month and the years.
The ninth month is marked in green on the counter at 3 o’clock. It also displays the double moon phase for both Northern and Southern hemispheres.
Technical details
Model: TONDA PF Hijri Perpetual Calendar in Platinum, Reference PFK999-2020001-200182, Parmigiani Fleurier Cultural Calendars Trilogy Set
Case
Polished and satin-finished platinum 950 with knurled bezel
Diameter: 42 mm
Thickness: 11.2 mm
Crown: Ø 6 mm, screwed-in
Glass: ARunic anti-reflective sapphire
Case back: sapphire glass
Engraving on case back: serial number – “PARMIGIANI FLEURIER” – “Edition Limitée de 3 pièces”
Water resistance: 100 m
Dial
Color: Platinum 950
Finishing: Sandblasted
Indices: 18ct gold rhodium-plated appliques
Moon phase: Blue aventurine
Hands
Hours and minutes: 18ct gold rhodium-plated skeleton delta-shaped
Seconds and calendar: Rhodium-plated steel
Movement
Calibre PF009
Automatic movement with Hijri Perpetual Calendar and Moon Phase Indicator
Power reserve: 48 hours
Frequency: 28,800 Vph (4 Hz)
Jewels: 32
No. of components: 310
Total diameter: 33.8 mm
Thickness: 5.7 mm
Decoration: Côtes de Genève and snailed, bevelled bridges
Oscillating weight: Platinum, skeletonized, polished and sandblasted
Functions
Hours, minutes, seconds, Hijri perpetual calendar and precision moon phase
Bracelet
Polished and satin-finished platinum 950
Closure: 18ct white gold folding clasp
