All that glitters is gold: Parmigiani Fleurier’s new collection is spectacular luxe

Having recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, Swiss watchmaker Parmigiani Fleurier has been rolling out a series of interesting timepieces to commemorate the occasion — but in July, it announced one watch to rule them all: the Kalpa XL Hebdomadaire Anniversaire.

This handsome watch is built with a simple steel case that contains a movement (the mechanism by which the watch keeps time) constructed from solid gold. It’s the second watch that Parmigiani has made with gold interior technology, but as beautiful as the first one (the Tonda Chronor Anniversaire chronograph) was, it can’t hold a candle to the spectacular detail work seen here.




Visible through the Kalpa’s transparent sapphire caseback, the gold movement is covered from tip to tail in ornate dragon tail-shaped embellishment. This PF110 movement is the same as found in the rest of the Kalpa line of watches, but the finishing makes it truly special — not to mention that only one of these will be made. The price is 70,000 Swiss francs (about $71,000, although the brand says a US buyer can get it for $65,000).

If you miss this one, Parmigiani has said it will release in October a limitededition series of 10 similar watches that will be "mechanically identical with certain aesthetical differences."

Following the lead taken by FP Journe, Parmigiani has just announced a series of ladies’ watches powered by its all new, in-house-developed quartz movement. Available in two different case sizes, the Kalpa Piccola and Kalpa Donna Anniversaire watches come in four different motherof-pearl dial colours and have a limited production run of 96 pieces — a little nod to 1996, the brand’s year of inception. The watches will retail for 9,900 Swiss francs with a leather strap, and 10,500 Swiss francs with a steel bracelet.