Hands-On: Parmigiani Goes Full ‘Sport Chronograph’ With The Tonda PF

Parmigiani Fleurier is on a tear right now. To understand why, you don’t have to look much further than Parmigiani’s new 42mm Tonda PF Sport Chronograph (and the three-hand Tonda PF Sport Automatic) that was announced less than two weeks ago in both steel and 18kt rose gold. The chronographs are thinner than the Tonda GT line but slightly thicker than the other Tonda PF chronographs at 12.9mm (versus 12.4mm). With the line’s quintessential case shape and lugs, they look a lot like previous PF Chronographs – and yes the changes overall are pretty small – but why mess with success when you’ve got a good thing going?

Over the last few years, since Guido Terreni took over the helm as CEO of Parmigiani Fleurier, it seems new life has been breathed into the brand. It’s not surprising really, since Terreni was at the helm of Bulgari when the brand launched its instant classic in the Octo Finissimo, but going two-for-two is not a given. 

Somehow Terreni and the team (including Michel Parmigiani who remains intimately involved in the brand bearing his name) pulled off a comeback story that has brought the brand into the spotlight once more. While Terreni has told me that the brand is cognizant of building out the entire brand’s lineup so they don’t become a one-trick pony, the Tonda line had the most potential and therefore had an urgent need for improvement. 

Turns out he wasn’t wrong. The re-design and re-launch of the Tonda line as the Tonda GT in 2020 and Tonda PF in 2021 certainly reinvigorated the market’s interest in Parmigiani, and with every release – like the new Sport models – it’s pretty clear why.

Focusing on the Tonda PF Sport Chronograph, the most obvious change at first glance is the strap, an option most often seen on the Tonda and Tonda GT models (and a few odd Tonda PFs). In this case, the watches come with a hand-made and stitched Cordura-treated rubber and deployant clasp. The strap seamlessly nestles between the case lugs but can be accessed from the back for a strap change if needed, just not with any kind of quick release.

For those of you that love to switch from metal bracelets to something rubber in the summer, this option probably makes you quite happy. I, on the other hand, suffer through the sticky summer months with my metal bracelets so I put the question to the Parmigiani team: can I put the Tonda PF metal bracelet on the new watch? Yes, they told me, though I guess that kind of fits the point of the sportiness they were going for.

Inside the watch is the brand’s COSC-certified manufacture movement PF070, a fully-integrated chronograph that you’ll find in the previous Tonda PF chronographs with hours, minutes, small seconds, date, and chronograph. The power reserve stays the same as in the past (65 hours) as does the frequency (36,000 Vph), diameter, thickness, jewels, parts… etc. etc. The finishing looks great – hand-finished with beveled edges and Côtes de Genève decoration. The pushers for the chronograph have a nice even push to them with a satisfying feeling that lets you know the activation was successful. In fact, the only difference (technically this is the PF070/6710) is a different rotor (inspired by the Ferrari 250 GTO), otherwise everything else remains the same.

The exterior finishing is great as well, with polished and satin-finished stainless steel or 18kt rose gold, but all of it seems a bit more quiet and elegant on a strap without the “bling” a bracelet can bring.

The two other biggest changes are really seen from the dial side. Probably the most “sporty” component of the watches is the shift to a panda dial configuration. The main section of the dial still has the brand’s clou triangulaire guilloché, but the subdials (running seconds, 30-minute totalizer, and 12-hour totalizer) are a more matte black. Meanwhile, the bezel has 65 less incisions on the knurling, which the brand said plays more with light and makes the watch a bit more bold. I’ll be honest, I didn’t notice it myself. How many of you know the exact count or even aesthetic of the incisions on the original Tonda PF bezel after all?

The hands match the color of the case, but in actuality, they’re not the same metal on the steel version. They’re actually 18k gold rhodium-plated skeletonized delta-shaped hands with black luminescent coating on the top segment and rhodium-plated steel for the chronograph hand. For the rose gold case, the hands are rose gold except for the chronograph hand which is rose gold-plated steel. The lume on all matches the black SuperLuminova indices. 

The thing that probably will stand out most for people is, unfortunately, the date window. To my taste, the brand could have matched the date window color to the dial and maintained a better balance. 

I’ll take a quick second here to mention the brand released a three-hand version, the Sport Automatic, at 40mm with a date at six o’clock on the dial. The finishing looks similarly great all around but the watch lacks the inherent sportiness of the chronographs. It’s a watch that doesn’t quite feel dressy, but not that sporty either.

So let’s get down to the nitty-gritty on these new sports offerings, specifically the chronographs. In steel, you’re looking at a price tag of $29,000. In rose gold, it’s significantly more: $50,200. It’s a steep price for a steel watch, especially compared to Vacheron Constantin’s new panda Overseas Chronograph released earlier this year which runs $32,400. But Parmigiani makes far less watches a year, so it depends on personal taste in some ways.

Regardless of your personal feelings on price, I will say the watch represents an interesting picture of the development of the Tonda PF line. It looks like the brand is aware that when you’ve got a good product going, a good plan of attack is the kind of complication development the brand is targeting (a new and novel complication every year) while quietly filling out gaps in the lineup to provide a wide variety of options for a growing customer base. If you have the money, Parmigiani is working hard to make sure there’s something for everyone who might want a Tonda PF. And that’s hard to be upset about.

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You can learn more about Parmigiani Fleurier online.

​Hodinkee 

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