A stand-out favourite from my visit to the recent Watches and Wonders fair in Geneva is the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Chronographe Mystérieux, distinguished by its disappearing hands.
The release coincides with this haute horlogerie brand’s 30th anniversary, yet it avoids conspicuous celebration through outlandish gestures, instead asserting itself with exceptional restraint and refined minimalism, its complexity and ingenuity revealed only on request.
The name “Tonda” is derived from the Venetian term tondo, referring to a round canvas used by Renaissance artists. Founder and master watchmaker Michel Parmigiani conceived this collection as a blank canvas upon which to express the brand’s intemporal aesthetic, free from clutter. The result is one of the most elegant and discreet contemporary chronographs available today — arguably even more so than H Moser & Cie.’s Streamliner Flyback of 2020 — and it completes a compelling trilogy alongside the Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante and Tonda PF Minute Rattrapante.
The Chronographe Mystérieux features a 40mm case in polished and satin-finished stainless steel, with the signature Tonda knurled bezel in platinum. Its fluid silhouette and teardrop-shaped lugs ensure a precise ergonomic fit. The dial is hand-crafted in the maison’s signature Grain d’orge guilloché (engraved barley pattern) and rendered in a mineral-blue tone.
At rest, the watch presents as a simple three-hand Tonda PF. The mystery reveals itself with the first press of the monopusher at half-past seven, deploying three rhodium-plated chronograph hands. These perform an instantaneous flyback to 12 o’clock before immediately setting off to count hours, minutes and seconds.
Simultaneously, the rose-gold hour and minute hands of civil time are revealed. A second press halts the chronograph to display the measured interval, while a third realigns the rhodium-plated hands precisely with the rose-gold hands of current time as the seconds hand resumes its natural motion.
Powering the watch is the automatic in-house Calibre PF053, an integrated column-wheel chronograph movement built around the concept of disappearance, where every interaction demands absolute precision and synchronisation. Its architecture incorporates a triple-clutch system — one vertical and two horizontal — necessitated by the stacking and transformation of the hand functions.
Beating at 28,800vph (4Hz), this ultra-thin movement is hand-finished to the maison’s standards and offers a 60-hour power reserve. Through the open case back, one can admire the high level of finishing, including the 22kt rose-gold oscillating weight and open-worked bridges. The Tonda PF Chronographe Mystérieux — water-resistant to 100m — is presented on a polished and satin-finished steel bracelet.
At the fair, Chopard also marked the 30th anniversary of its Fleurier manufacture with a new edition of its original L.U.C 1860 model. Parmigiani himself collaborated with Chopard on the design and development of their first manufacture movement, the ultra-thin L.U.C 96.01-L, which features in the now-iconic 1860 and is widely regarded as one of the finest automatic movements ever created.
This latest iteration preserves the spirit of the original while incorporating updated movement technology in the 3.30mm-thin L.U.C Calibre 96.40-L, a direct evolution of its predecessor.
See parmigiani.com and chopard.com or contact Boutique Haute Horlogerie at 011 325 4119 or 021 418 1889.
From the May issue of Wanted, 2026
