Michel Parmigiani
2nd December 1950: Michel Parmigiani is born in Couvet (Switzerland) in Val-de-Travers, a region in the canton of Neuchâtel.
The exceptional development of the fine micromechanical industry in Val-de-Travers, beginning in the 17th century, as well as the beauty of its natural environment, made it a fundamental focal point in the life of Michel Parmigiani.
Michel Parmigiani's childhood and adolescence are shaped by the shared passion uniting the Parmigiani family - a passion for arts and crafts. © Parmigiani
1966 – 1969: Michel Parmigiani decides to follow a course of training to become a practising watchmaker at the Fleurier school of watchmaking.
Michel Parmigiani's childhood and adolescence are shaped by the shared passion uniting the Parmigiani family - a passion for arts and crafts. His father, a precision mechanic with a passion for sculpture, and his mother, a seamstress and amateur painter, instil in him an appreciation for fine workmanship and an incomparable flair for observation These qualities blossom into an impressive watchmaking talent at the Fleurier school of watchmaking.
1969 – 1971: Michel Parmigiani supplements his knowledge with further full watchmaking training at the La Chaux-de-Fonds Technicum, followed by two years in the micromechanical construction department at the Le Locle Technicum.
After completing his studies, Michel Parmigiani receives a distinction from the Ecoles d’Horlogerie Suisse (Swiss Schools of Watchmaking) for his exceptional abilities.
1973 – 1975: Technical assistant to the management at Juvenia
1976: Michel Parmigiani embarks on his solo career. He establishes his first workshop in Couvet.
He is involved in restoring exceptional pieces for Marcel Jean-Richard, a descendant of one of the region's famous watchmaking families. He finishes the construction of astronomical clocks, among other things.
From this point, Michel Parmigiani devotes himself entirely to the restoration of historic pieces and the creation of movements or complete watches and clocks for other prestigious brands (including Piaget and Vacheron Constantin). Respected museums such as the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris entrust their finest pieces to him.
1980: Michel Parmigiani meets Pierre Landolt for the first time. He becomes the official restorer for the collection of watchmaking artefacts owned by the Sandoz Family Foundation.
This is a meeting that will later seal the destiny of the Parmigiani Fleurier brand.
1980: The Couvet workshop becomes too cramped for Michel Parmigiani's 5 workers. He relocates to Fleurier.
1985: Development of an extra-flat perpetual calendar for a pocket watch.
1988: Development of a constant-force instantaneous perpetual calendar clock with an autonomy of 8 days.
September 1990: Founding of the Parmigiani Mesure et Art du Temps company.
1990: Production of the Calibre 90, an automatic pocket watch designed for the Breguet firm.
Michel Parmigiani also produces all its variants: a skeleton version, a large date calendar version, a version with a thermometer and, lastly, a calibre featuring the true solar hour.
1991: Michel Parmigiani and his restoration workshop accomplish the tremendous feat of breathing life back into the Breguet Sympathique clock.
This exceptional piece, considered by experts at the time to be irreparable and lost forever, today shines once more with all its former glory.
1993: Invention of and patent registration for the thirty-year continuous calendar clock concept.
This invention would not become a reality until 2010, when it took the shape of the first clock to feature a Hegirian calendar, previewed at the Abu-Dhabi Art international contemporary art exhibition.
1994: The workshop now employs 50 staff, and an important partnership begins with Chopard to design and produce its automatic calibre in Fleurier.
21 March 1995: Michel Parmigiani receives the GAIA award for his entrepreneurship.
Presented by the "Institut L’Homme et le Temps" research institute, the Gaia award celebrates the research and activities of Michel Parmigiani in the field of timekeeping.
1995: Development of a pivoted detent escapement for chronometry.
1996: The Sandoz Family Foundation acquires a majority stake in the Parmigiani Mesure et Art du Temps company, and the Parmigiani Fleurier brand is born.
Parmigiani Fleurier pocket watches, clocks and wristwatches are produced in the workshops of the Parmigiani Mesure et Art du Temps manufacture. Almost all of the production steps are managed in-house, giving Michel Parmigiani considerable creative freedom. At this time Michel Parmigiani creates an exceptional piece, "La Fleur d’Orient", whose mechanical and aesthetic complications require more than 20,000 hours of work.
1997: First appearance of the Parmigiani Fleurier brand at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, the international luxury watch exhibition and trade fair.
1998: Michel Parmigiani and his team restore the Planétarium. A brand new achievement.
Created by François Ducommun-dit-Boudry in 1817 to represent the movements of the moon and the earth around the sun, it is now on display at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan.
1998: Restoration of the Breguet portico clock, ordered by Princess Mathilde Bonaparte for her husband, Prince Anatole Demidoff. Paris Museum of Decorative Arts collection.
1998: The first manually-wound mechanical movement produced entirely in-house by Parmigiani, the Calibre PF 110, is finalised.
The calibre PF 110 is employed in all Parmigiani Fleurier models with hours, minutes and small seconds, and symbolises the brand's course through history. Michel Parmigiani designs each and every one of its bridges.
2001: Michel Parmigiani designs the first Kalpa model.
A tonneau-style wristwatch characterised by its four elliptical lugs, the Kalpa remains the icon of the Parmigiani brand.
2001: Start of the partnership with the Bugatti car company.
The first sketches of the legendary Bugatti Type 370 watch are drafted. A world premiere representing an important milestone in Swiss watchmaking history.
2003: Parmigiani Mesure et Art du Temps makes way for the creation of two sister companies: Parmigiani Fleurier SA, the watchmaking brand, and Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier SA, the new name given to the manufacture.
An entire network of craftsmanship and industrial expertise would be inaugurated several years later under the name MHF - the watchmaking manufactures of the Sandoz Family Foundation, bringing together a total of five business divisions.
September 2003: Michel Parmigiani, together with three partners, establishes Fleurier Quality Certification.
This new watchmaking quality certification highlights the rich expertise of the Val-de-Travers. Parmigiani Fleurier is one of the founding members.
September 2004: World preview of the Bugatti Type 370 watch.
Michel Parmigiani and Jean-Marc Jacot unveil the very first example of the Bugatti Type 370 watch in Milan, in the presence of a distinguished guest: Giorgio Armani.
November 2010: The first clock with a Hegirian continuous lunar calendar is presented at a world premiere for the Middle Eastern press.
The resounding success of the first Hegirian calendar, hailed in Abu-Dhabi by the press and authorities, is a recognition of Michel Parmigiani's research on the subject, which began back in 1993.
2011: Fifteen Parmigiani Fleurier calibres have been developed and produced over fifteen years in the manufacture's workshops (MHF).
After 15 years in existence, the Parmigiani Fleurier brand, founded in 1996, is celebrating the fifteenth Calibre to be produced entirely by the Parmigiani manufacture. An extraordinary demonstration of the expertise of this region and the craftsmanship and industrial capacities it offers. Strengths which Michel Parmigiani and the Sandoz Family Foundation have always striven to preserve.