Parmigiani Fleurier presented the new Tonda Annual Calendar, a piece that combines two complications which founder Michel Parmigiani has a special passion for. The Tonda Annual Calendar is available in two versions: a 40 mm rose gold case with a white grained dial – a speciality of the manufacture, and a white gold case with a black opaline dial.
The new Tonda 1950 Annual Calendar is actually based off an earlier Parmigiani watch called the Tonda Quator. However, refinements have been made to make it more elegant and legible. The case features the distinctive teardrop-style lugs that have become a signature of the collection. It is water-resistant to 30m. Both models will come with a black alligator strap made by Hermès.
Featuring both a retrograde annual calendar and a precision moon phase, the 4 Hz (28,800 vph) calibre PF339 was developed using the the PF331 automatic movement as a base and equipping it with an additional module dedicated to the complications. The date is automatically adjusted based on the number of days in the month — 30 or 31 — but it works on the basis of 29 days for February, whether or not it is a leap year. Therefore, three times every four years, at the end of February, you need re-establish contact with its mechanism by setting the date manually.
Its series-mounted double barrel guarantees a power reserve of 50 hours and stabilises the distribution of energy so that it is transmitted to the regulator at a constant level. The oscillating weight is crafted from solid rose gold and adorned with a guilloché barley grain motif. The Tonda 1950 Annual Calendar features a reworked dial to improve legibility. Large hour indices grace the periphery of the dial within and there is a retrograde date indicator. At 9 o’clock you have the sub-dial for the day, and at 3 o’clock you have the sub-dial denoting the month. Finally, at 6 o’clock you have a moon phase display that only needs correcting once every 122 years, remarkable accuracy that requires a compensation for the difference between a classic lunar cycle (29 days and 12 hours) and the actual lunar cycle (29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 2.8 seconds).
The Tonda Annual Calendar shows two representations of the moon – as viewed from both the northern and southern hemispheres – to meet the needs of wearers in any location. The moon counter and the solid rose gold moon discs stand out on an aventurine glass sky. To ensure the watch is legible in the dark, the hour indices, alpha-style hour and minute hands, as well as the hands for the day and month indicator are filled with luminescent material.