In 2014, Parmigiani Fleurier released the Tonda Metro collection, which was designed to appeal to a younger audience and also be more accessible at the same time. The Metro collection includes the Tonda Métrographe watch (hands-on here), and they are now updating it with a fresh and more modern design. For the new Tonda Métrographe, Parmigiani has made minor revisions to the case and reworked the entire dial. Let us walk you through the changes here.
The name Parmigiani Fleurier should be familiar to most serious watch collectors and lovers. Last year, we wrote an in-depth feature about Parmigiani Fleurier and their five manufactures. No, that’s not a typo, Parmigiani Fleurier is in fact supported by five different and specialized workshops. Most people are perhaps more familiar with Parmigiani Fleurier’s more exotic works, like the Parmigiani Tonda 1950 Tourbillon (reviewed here) and their incredibly high-tech Parmigiani Senfine Concept watch (hands-on), which has a revolutionary new escapement system.
The Parmigiani Tonda Métrographe watch still comes with a 40mm stainless steel case, but thickness has been reduced slightly from 12.2mm to 11.7mm. Water resistance remains the same at 30m, so a couple of splashes won’t harm it. The case retains the same design cues as its predecessors, the most notable being the powerful-looking lugs, which give it an air of strength and modernity.
The dial, however, has been completely changed. The new Parmigiani Tonda Métrographe watch will come with black and white dial versions. The two variants have similar design flourishes, but some color differences. For example, while the black dial version will feature rose gold chronograph hands, the white dial version will have blued steel chronograph hands.
The most obvious changes on the new Parmigiani Tonda Métrographe watch are the resized chronograph counters and the different position of the date window. The chronograph counters are now smaller, but they also have a raised periphery to add depth and details to the dial. The centers of the chronograph counters have also been decorated with snailing.
The rhodium-plated appliqués that mark out the hours have also been changed. They are smaller now and look more contemporary. The underside of the appliqués have also been snailed to aid in legibility and to add more details to the dial. Outside the hour markers is the tachymeter scale, which adds more functionality to the new Parmigiani Tonda Métrographe watch. The older Parmigiani Tonda Métrographe watch did not have a tachymeter scale.
Finally, the wide date window has been moved from the 6 o’clock position to 12 o’clock. Not everyone is a fan of the Parmigiani Tonda Métrographe’s large triple-date window, but I think the change in position makes for a more harmonious and coherent look. In the older model, the date window had to share space with the chronograph hour counter. Not only did that look somewhat messy, it also made reading the elapsed hours tricky at certain times.
The black dial variant of the Parmigiani Tonda Métrographe watch will come with a matching black calfskin leather strap, whereas the white dial variant will get a brown calfskin leather strap. Both watches will come with a folding-type buckle. There’s also the option to have the watches with metal bracelets.
The new Tonda Métrographe watch will still use Parmigiani Fleurier’s caliber PF315. It’s a modular chronograph movement, with the module coming from chronograph module specialist Dubois-Depraz, while the base movement is Parmigiani Fleurier’s own in-house caliber PF331.
The caliber PF315 is made up of 351 components and has double barrels in a series to ensure a more consistent delivery of torque for better time-keeping. It beats at 4Hz and has a power reserve of 42 hours. The Parmigiani Tonda Métrographe will also have a see-through sapphire case back for owners to admire the well-finished movement.
Based on first impressions, the new Parmigiani Tonda Métrographe watch seems to have successfully updated its look. The new dial configuration and design looks, to me at least, much more sleek and contemporary when compared to its predecessor. This makes the Parmigiani Tonda Métrographe an appealing, if somewhat unconventional, choice of a chronograph in its price segment. The Parmigiani Tonda Métrographe watch is priced at $11,500 with a leather strap and $12,000 with a bracelet. parmigiani.ch