Mishel Parmigiani Head of the Swiss watch manufacturer 'PARMIGIANI FLEURIER' Country: Switzerland

1. Biography of Michel Parmigiani
2. The Birth of 'Pershing'
3. The Complexity of 'Pershing'
4. Parmigiani's Unique Approach

Biography of Michel Parmigiani

Michel Parmigiani is the head of the Swiss watchmaking manufacture 'PARMIGIANI FLEURIER'. Known for his aversion to repetition, Parmigiani has yet to envision any future collaborations with non-watch brands. Despite numerous offers from automotive companies following the success of his work with 'Bugatti', Parmigiani has chosen to hold back.

The Birth of 'Pershing'

Michel Parmigiani, a watchmaking alchemist, introduced watch collectors and those with refined taste to the new 'Pershing' model with a rubber strap. The case of this novelty is made of palladium, and it features a tourbillon. Surprisingly, 'Pershing' is the name of high-speed yachts that set trends in the yachting world. Watches and yachts are representatives of two parallel worlds, and few perceive watches as an essential accessory for yachtsmen. However, the head of the Swiss watchmaking manufacture 'PARMIGIANI FLEURIER' does not hide the reason behind choosing the name 'Pershing'. The attempt to combine luxury, sport, and technology was successful, and a 'yachting accessory' was born in the watch universe. Owners of luxurious speedboats can now proudly wear the name 'Pershing' on their wrists. The use of palladium for the case is another unconventional decision by the Swiss manufacture. Palladium, although similar to platinum, is completely hypoallergenic, very bright, and still undervalued. However, watchmakers are hesitant to work with palladium because it is four times more difficult to process than platinum. Palladium quickly destroys the polycrystalline diamond cutters, leading to rapid wear of the equipment. Nevertheless, this did not deter Michel Parmigiani.

The Complexity of 'Pershing'

Continuing to push the boundaries, the 'Pershing' watch is equipped with one of the most complex and expensive additional mechanisms, the tourbillon (Skeleton Tourbillon model). This tourbillon model is completely transparent. The 'Pershing' watches, designed for respectable individuals, require about twenty hours of manual work to meticulously craft just one steel bridge that supports the Skeleton Tourbillon. Naturally, such painstaking work significantly influences the price of the watches. The entire process of creating a new watch brand, from developing the idea to product realization, takes years. When the watch company 'PARMIGIANI FLEURIER' collaborated with the automotive company 'Bugatti', it required serious investment, perseverance, and patience, as the watches were created from scratch without incorporating any previous developments, no matter how good they were.

Parmigiani's Unique Approach

Parmigiani is afraid of repetition, and perhaps for this reason, he currently does not see any plans for future collaborations with other non-watch brands. Automotive companies have repeatedly offered joint projects after Parmigiani's success with 'Bugatti', but the head of the watch manufacture has decided to hold back. Parmigiani always sets the initial idea for the future watch model, but an experienced team of designers immediately joins the process. He participates in the design work, knows a lot about mechanisms and production stages, and understands how complex the evolutionary process in watchmaking is. Of course, new mechanisms and materials will continue to emerge. However, innovations that are highly noticeable among professionals sometimes hold little significance for the general public. It is noteworthy that palladium in the 'Pershing' model is not among those things that can only be appreciated by collectors.

Without a doubt, the style of 'PARMIGIANI FLEURIER' is unique. Revealing its secrets, Parmigiani simply states that he cannot be influenced by other watchmakers. He does not chase after others' ideas or compare himself to them. The company has its own employees for those purposes. Parmigiani simply does not look at others to avoid wanting to be on par with everyone else. Michel, the watchmaking alchemist, highly values what the masters of the past did without having modern capabilities. In his opinion, current mechanisms sometimes fall short in many aspects compared to their predecessors.