Parmigiani Fleurier CEO Guido Terreni Talks About Private Luxury

“I think luxury is about moving forward—not going backward,” Parmigiani Fleurier CEO Guido Terreni told me during a recent video call from his office in Switzerland. And this, in a nutshell, is what the company has been up to of late, sometimes quietly and sometimes more boisterously. It is taking its interpretation of luxury into the future with reimagined timepieces that honor the company while showing off some contemporary tweaks.

But if you really think about it, this is what Parmigiani Fleurier has always been about—the melding of the classic and the provocative, the blending of the quintessential with the urgency of surprise. Whether in its top-of-the-line movements and watchmaking techniques or in its extraordinary aesthetics, a Parmigiani watch is in a category all its own—“a private luxury,” Terreni calls it.

_{It’s All About You}

When asked about the demographics of typical brand fans, he explained that they’re best described in terms of sophistication rather than by quantifiable descriptors like age, gender and income. “It is a kind of respect for the individual. What is really cool is what you like,” and not what one’s social standing or aspirations might dictate. Many of the finer points of a Parmigiani Fleurier watch, then, are purely for the edification and enjoyment of a cultured clientele with enough knowledge and refinement to appreciate the details. The finishing on the movements. The perfect polish on a case or index. The singularity of a dial.

The Toric QP Retrograde was the first wristwatch created by founder Michel Parmigiani under the Parmigiani Fleurier name, in 1996, and the Toric collection remains an acclaimed mainstay. Its familiar knurled bezel is a jumping-off point for a new and elegant minimalism reinforced by the tastefully restrained dial and the precious metals used to craft the movements and watchcases. The dial features a beveled effect wherein the edge dips slightly toward the case—a detail that will not go unnoticed among devoted Parmigiani Fleurier fans. The surfaces are hand rendered using a precise technique to achieve a light-dispersing effect that is at once understated and ogle worthy. The unobtrusive PF appliqué at noon—now evident throughout the collections—identifies the upscale maker with subtle dignity. If you know, you know.

The Tonda PF found its form in 2021 in honor of the brand’s 25th anniversary. Today the collection includes an array of variations, and it, like the Toric, speaks to the inner experience of the wearer, says Terreni. It takes a few thoughtful risks in its design: notably, the Grain d’Orge guilloché dial pattern is reduced in scale. “Any smaller and it would have become invisible. Any larger, it would have become obvious,” according to the brand. Subtlety and refinement once again reign.

Parmigiani Fleurier timepieces are extolled as possessing “sartorial elegance,” implying they are treated with the same attention to detail and discreet craftsmanship as fine fabric at the hand of a master tailor. Terreni points out that even the feel of the watch and the stitching on the watch straps are nods to this artistry, grasped by those who share the values of tradition and its historical underpinnings. Not so incidentally, six watches within the Toric and the Tonda PF collections were nominated in various categories for the 2024 GPHG (Grand Prix D’horlogerie De Geneve) competition. Though a win was not in the cards this year, the sheer number of nominated watches is a feat.

Looking ahead to Parmigiani Fleurier’s 30th anniversary, Terreni says the company will continue to pay tribute to Michel Parmigiani, who not only established the company, but its remarkable ethos as well. As for the more immediate future, he raises this overriding objective: “We will continue to work on the true benefit of buying a watch, which is the personal pleasure of the owner.”