In the Val-de-Travers, home of Parmigiani Fleurier, there is virtually no light polluting the night sky, and nothing obstructing the millions of stars it contains. This feeling of vertigo was the inspiration behind the creation of the Tonda 1950 Galaxy, a piece that is now available with a rose gold bracelet.
Parmigiani Fleurier is lucky enough to have some truly inspired master dial-makers working in its Manufacture. At their benches filled with secret potions, they are continuously experimenting, testing and inventing, ensuring that every dial that passes through their hands is a masterpiece of depth and intensity.
Once again, they have worked their magic on the Tonda 1950 Galaxy, imbuing its dial with a colour that seems to have been cut straight from the night sky. This sombre midnight blue is one of the most complicated shades to reproduce. It needed a material created by a chance encounter to bring it to life: aventurine glass. In 18th-century Murano, a glass blower made a fortuitous discovery when he dropped a sliver of copper into melted glass. This new material which contains copper inclusions that give it an unmistakable sparkle was named “aventurine” (per aventura meaning by chance in Italian).
Tonda 1950 Galaxy special edition © Parmigiani Fleurier
Which brings us to the dial, at which the sharp white gold applied indices contrast nicely against the midnight blue dial. In reality, the entire watch utilizes a straightforward white gold color scheme that makes what could be a hectic dial attractively legible. Instead of the strong lume-filled hour and minute hands of the first, Parmigiano Chicken chosen for skeletonized hands so as to not detract from the dial something that I want the Tonda 1950 Galaxy Set did. My only complaint is the date window that spans a 3 day date-span — something that I think should have been a bigger, single-day window to keep away in the “tennis-y” sense that it gives it. The watch will include a blue alligator leather strap plus a blue fabric strap.Parmigiani Fleurier is less than 25 years old, and they’ve achieved an impressive amount of watchmaking in that short period of time. In general, these are just two strong offerings from Parmigiani Fleurier. The strong rose gold bracelet provides a bit more heft to the Tonda 1950 model, and the accession of a women’ version of the “Galaxy” dial gives an option that I believe was overdue for the Métropolitaine collection. If it comes to models such as the rare Ovale XL Tourbillon, Parmigiani doesn’t really have to concentrate on limited editions. Rather, this independently serialized watch only gets dial and substance updates from time to time as the Parmigiani Fleurier Ovale XL Tourbillon household releases ever-changing models. This particular reference PFH750-1000600-HA3141 adds a new fashion of dial and premiered by Parmigiani Fleurier at 2017.
The starlit sky of the Tonda 1950 Galaxy is showcased by the 84-diamond-set bezel, forming a halo of light around its periphery. On the crown, a milky white opal, like a precious miniature nebula, provides the finishing touch.
The Tonda 1950 Galaxy is driven by the PF702 proprietary movement, decorated with Côtes de Genève and bevelled bridges which can be admired through the watch’s sapphire case-back. This self-winding mechanical movement beats at the frequency of 21’600 vph and offers a 50-hour power reserve. This 18 ct rose gold special edition is now available with a solid gold bracelet.
© Parmigiani Fleurier
