The New Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda GT Line – the Gran Turismo Tonda

The well-represented Tonda family welcomes its luxury sports watch line with the new Tonda GT. Like the GTs of the car world – the Gran Turismos or Grand Touring cars designed for high speed and long-distance driving – the Tonda GT is sporty and stylish yet robust enough and comfortable for long-distance wear. With integrated bracelets/straps, a redesigned case and classic Parmigiani flourishes, the Tonda GT is the sportiest line in the Tonda family to date. From the complicated Tondagraph GT annual calendar and chronograph to the simpler Tonda GT daily beater with three-hands and big date, this line is primed to grow. 

Rich pickings

The Tonda collection is the largest of all five collections produced from head to toe (except the Hermès straps) by Parmigiani Fleurier in the Swiss mountain town of Fleurier and is one of the few watch companies to boast a fully integrated manufacture. Models range from the ultra-slim and elegant Tonda 1950 dress watch all the way to the high-end Tondagraphe tourbillon and chronograph combo or even the Tonda Hijri Perpetual Calendar, the world’s first Islamic calendar in a wristwatch format. The new Tonda GT is not really the first luxury sports watch line in the Tonda collection; the Tonda Metrographe has been around since 2014 but limited exclusively to chronograph complications. With its showcase Tondagraph GT annual calendar and chronograph and less complicated Tonda GT daily beater, it’s clear that this line is the way forward for Parmigiani’s take on the luxury sports watch.

The case of the new Tonda GT borrows designs elements from the Tonda Chronor, the first integrated chronograph movement from the brand which won the Chronograph Watch Prize at the GPHG 2017, and from the Toric collection with its fluted bezel revisited earlier this year with a gorgeous slate grey dial. Dino Modolo, the watch designer, was commissioned to refresh the architecture of the lugs to accommodate an integrated bracelet.

Showpiece Tondagraph GT

The showpiece of the launch is the Tondagraph GT, an ambitious combination of annual calendar and chronograph with all the robustness of a sports watch, including water-resistance of 100 metres. The Tondagraph GT comes in a 42mm stainless steel case with a thickness of 13.7mm and the choice of a black integrated rubber strap or a matching stainless steel bracelet. You can clearly see the influence of the Tonda Chronor in the beautiful teardrop-shaped pushers and lugs. The ergonomic pushers are an extension of the hallmark teardrop-shaped lugs and flow seamlessly into the lugs. The gleaming polished finishes on the case are in line with Parmigiani Fleurier’s high standards and extend all the way down the outside links of the steel bracelet. Underscoring the luxury sports watch spirit of the watch, the outermost polished links are followed by a vertical row of brushed links and the horizontal central links of the bracelet feature alternating brushed and polished finishes.

The black dial displays a refined hand-guilloché design known as ‘clou triangulaire’, a three-sided pyramid motif. Three snailed sub-dials in a classic tricompax arrangement and a large date window just below 12 o’clock house the chronograph and annual calendar indications. The big date window has a matching black background with large orange numerals placed on separate discs. The small seconds sub-dial at 3 o’clock has two arched tracks running from 00-30 and from 30-60 indicated by two hands of differing lengths, as well as a window for the month also picked out in orange at its base. There is a 30-minutes chronograph counter at 9 o’clock and a 12-hour elapsed time indicator at 6 o’clock. Partially skeletonised delta-shaped hands filled with black luminescent coating indicate the hours and minutes. The applied hour markers sit on a raised ribbed track and are also filled with black luminescence while the central chronograph seconds hand reads elapsed seconds against the outermost track picked out in white.

The new Tondagraph GT is powered by the PF043 automatic calibre. The caseback has a sapphire glass to view the movement with its openworked 22k gold rotor. Beating at 28,000vph, the movement as a power reserve of 48 hours.

Quick facts: 42mm diameter x 13.7mm thickness, stainless steel, polished and brushed – screw-down crown – 100m water-resistance – anti-reflective sapphire over dial, sapphire crystal caseback – black guilloché dial – rhodium-plated indices – delta-shaped openworked hands – big date in orange at 12 o’clock – small seconds counter at 3 o’clock with month – 12h chronograph counter at 6 o’clock- 30-minute counter at 9 o’clock – black luminescence on hour and minute hands and indices – calibre PF043, in-house automatic – 28,800vph/4Hz – 443 components, 56 jewels – 48h power reserve – hours, minutes, small seconds, annual calendar and chronograph – limited edition of 200 pieces – CHF 18,500 black rubber strap, CHF 19,500 steel bracelet

Tonda GT Black and Tonda GT Rose Gold Blue

Designed as an everyday companion, the Tonda GT is a time-and-date model with a luxury sports watch vibe. Available in steel and rose gold, the case of the Tonda GT measures 42mm and has a thickness of 11.2mm and is water-resistant to 100 metres. Respecting the design codes of the new Tonda GT line, the bracelet/strap is integrated and the bezel is fluted. You can appreciate how Dino Modolo has reworked the teardrop-shaped lugs to incorporate the bracelet; the tips of the lugs are now blunt and straight and reinforced by a central structure to hide the gap. To highlight the architecture, the outer lugs are polished and the middle piece is brushed.

Both the steel and gold models display the same ‘clou triangulaire’ guilloché pattern on their dials adding a refined touch of luxury. The big date aperture at 12 o’clock is framed to separate the two discs and the background colour echoes the colour of the dial (black for the steel model and blue for the rose gold). Like the chronograph minutes counter on the Tondagraph GT, the snailed small seconds at 6 o’clock are laid out in two arched counters. The delta-shaped hands and the applied indices on the ribbed track are identical to the Tondagraph and also treated with black luminescent material.

The automatic winding movement – the calibre PF044 – beats at 28,800vph and has a power reserve of 45 hours. The 22k gold rotor is openworked and the bridges are decorated with Côtes de Genève finishes.

Quick facts: 42mm diameter x 11.2mm thickness – stainless steel or 18k rose gold, brushed and polished – 100m water-resistance – anti-reflective sapphire over dial, sapphire crystal caseback – black guilloché dial (steel) blue guilloché (rose gold) – big date at 12 o’clock – small seconds at 6 o’clock – applied indices and delta-shaped openworked hour and minute hands treated with black luminescence – calibre PF044, in-house automatic – 28,800vph/4Hz – 274 components – 45h power reserve – hours, minutes, small seconds and big date – steel model limited to 250 watches – rose gold model limited to 150 watches – CHF 13,500 steel/rubber strap, CHF 14,500 steel/steel bracelet, CHF 24,900, rose gold/rubber strap price not available yet

For more information, please consult parmigiani.com.