From a watch workshop to famous ones – the history of the creation of the Parmigiani Fleurier brand manufactures began in difficult times for the entire watch industry.
In 1974, a young specialist Michel Parmigiani found himself on the threshold of the first crisis in the history of the Swiss watch industry, caused by the mass appearance of Japanese quartz principles on the market.
In these difficult times, despite all the advice and skepticism of colleagues, in 1976 Michel Parmigiani opened his own workshop in Couvet and began working in the field of traditional watchmaking.
“I am happy to have the opportunity to work with rare watch pieces that make up the entire memory of our ancestors, and I cannot come to terms with the fact of the disappearance of traditional watchmaking,” Michel Parmigiani later explained.
The above statement best reflects the philosophy of the master, based on an exceptional conviction: care for watchmaking traditions takes into account the harmful and irreversible consequences for the entire watch industry.
Thus, the aspiring entrepreneur Michel Parmigiani completely devoted himself to his passion – restoration. 1980 sacrificed great changes for the aspiring enterprise. At this time, a significant event in the career of Michel Parmigiani took place, the result of which was the opening of the Parmigiani Fleurier watch manufacture: Michel Parmigiani’s acquaintance with the Sandoz family.
Over time, Michel Parmigiani’s exceptional talent in the field of watchmaking and his unique knowledge of watchmaking relationships of the past are discovered. The head of the Sandoz family, Pierre Lando (Pierre Landolt), offers him one small workshop in the name of new growth, namely to found his own company, where he could fully realize himself as an unrivaled master of watchmaking. Thus, 1996 marked the differences between the Parmigiani Fleurier brands.
Some time later, the Sandoz Foundation decided to supplement the repair work by creating watch components from its own parts, manufactured according to constant quality criteria. This decision led to the reorganization of the entire production process of the company: the gradual acquisition of small workshops, the unification and complete control of the production of all watch components, cases and dials of future products.
These raw materials are produced in the factory using the correct watchmaking benchmarks. Soon, Parmigiani Fleurier becomes a completely independent company, completely controlling the quality of the execution of each element. Thus, the uniqueness of the Parmigiani Fleurier manufacture lies in the ability to implement any, even the most innovative ideas, within the limits of the possibilities of modern micromechanics.
The companies united in less than 4 years today produce the production complex “Manufactures Horlogères de la Fondation” (Watch Manufactures of the Foundation).
The independence of production processes has allowed Parmigiani Fleurier to achieve resounding success in its business in just a few years. Since its foundation, the brand has released six collections and 27 calibers of its own production, four of which have become world premieres.
