Story
1976: Michel Parmigiani starts up in business, in the field of restoring horological “objets d’art”. Establishment of the Michel Parmigiani workshop.
1978: Development of the “private label” activity for prestigious watchmaking brands.
1990 : Creation of the Parmigiani Mesure et Art du Temps company.
1995: Michel Parmigiani receives the GAIA award honouring his activities and his research in the field of time.
1996: The Sandoz Family Foundation acquires a majority stake in the PARMIGIANI MESURE ET ART DU TEMPS company, and the Parmigiani Fleurier brand is created, comprising wristwatches, pocket watches and table clocks.
1998: Development of the first mechanical hand-wound shaped movement “Calibre 110”, with an 8-day power reserve, and made entirely in-house by Parmigiani Fleurier.
2000-2001: The Sandoz Family Foundation acquires several manufacturing and exterior units: Bruno Affolter SA, a case making company (acquired in May 2000); Atokalpa SA, a turning company (acquired in December 2000); and Elwin SA, a turning and machine fittings company (acquired in January 2001), reinforcing the independence of the manufacture PARMIGIANI MESURE ET ART DU TEMPS.
2001: Development and launch of the mechanical self-winding movement “Calibre 331”, made entirely in-house by Parmigiani Fleurier, as part of a new watch line, the FORMA (renamed Kalpa)
2002: Development and launch of the mechanical self-winding Retrograde Perpetual Calendar movement “Calibre 333”, made entirely in-house by Parmigiani Fleurier.
2003: PARMIGIANI MESURE ET ART DU TEMPS SA is replaced by a new organisational structure: PARMIGIANI FLEURIER SA and VAUCHER MANUFACTURE FLEURIER SA.
2004: World premiere launch of the Type 370 Bugatti watch, the first transversal mechanical movement, an invention unprecedented in the history of wristwatches.
2004: Launch of the mechanical “Calibre 500” movement, the first 30-second Tourbillon with central seconds hand, and a 7-day power reserve. It was entirely developed and crafted by Parmigiani Fleurier.
2004: Inauguration of the Fleurier Quality Certification with updated, stringent horological criteria aimed at upholding high quality in Haute Horlogerie. Parmigiani Fleurier is one of the founding members.
2005: Announcement to the world press of the perfection of the AK 215 oscillator production process (hairspring and regulating part), made entirely by the industrial unit Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier.
2005: Sponsoring of aerostatic sports begins.
2006: Parmigiani Fleurier becomes "presenting sponsor" of the International Hot Air Ballooning Week at Château-d’Oex, and purchases a balloon custom-made in the brand's colours.
2006: Presentation of the first Parmigiani Fleurier ladies’ collection.
2006: Around 4000 watches are produced each year.
2006: Celebration of Michel Parmigiani’s 30 years in business.
2006: the sports partnership between Parmigiani Fleurier and the Swiss sailor Bernard Stamm is sealed, and starts with the Velux 5 Oceans, a solo round-the-world race with stopovers.
2006: creation of the company Quadrance et Habillage SA, bringing together the dial production activities.
2007: creation of the first sports collection, the Kalpagraph, incorporating the first Parmigiani Fleurier chronograph movement, Calibre PF 334.
2007: creation of an international cultural partnership: Parmigiani Fleurier becomes the new watchmaking partner of the Montreux Jazz festival, and the Montreux Jazz Festival Worldwide.
2007: the sports partnership between Parmigiani Fleurier and the Swiss sailor Bernard Stamm gets off to its first victory: Bernard Stamm's 1st place in the Velux 5 Oceans, in Spring 2007.
2007: Around 5000 watches are produced each year.
2007: Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier (VMF) finalises the acquisition of 40,000m2 of land in Fleurier, to meet its need for expansion. Based in three different sites, the company wants to be able to centralise its development, prototype, production and assembly units on a single site.
2007: the sports partnership with Bernard Stamm again bears fruit, with the navigator and his co-skipper earning 3rd place on the podium in the Transat Jacques Vabre, in November 2007, in Bahia (Brazil).
2008: the partnership between Parmigiani Fleurier and the yacht builder Pershing (Ferretti group) is inaugurated on 27 February in Mondolfo, Italy.
2008: creation of the first collection of Pershing sports watches, with two chronographs unveiled.
2008: Parmigiani Fleurier signs another sailing partnership with the Neufchatel crew of a Ventilo 28’ class multihull. The boat, fully decked out in Parmigiani Fleurier's colours, is dubbed Team Parmigiani. The sailing season ends with a brilliant 2nd place in the final ranking.
2008: the cultural partnership with the Montreux Jazz festival develops. Parmigiani Fleurier joins the exclusive club of the event's main partners, with greater visibility.
2008: the cultural partnership is supplemented by support for the Montreux Jazz Foundation 2 and exclusive collaboration with the Montreux Jazz Cafés. Inauguration of the 1st Montreux Jazz café, at the Geneva-Cointrin international airport, in June 2008.
2008: Bernard Stamm sets out from Sables d’Olonne on the Vendée Globe, a solo, unassisted round-the-world race with no stopovers.
2008: 500 people work in the industrial craft unit known as "Manufactures Horlogères de la Fondation" (MHF), which brings together the Parmigiani Fleurier brand activities and the activities of Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, Quadrance et Habillage, Bruno Affolter, Atokalpa and Elwin.
