Horological Meandering

PuristSPro reviews the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda 1950 Steel. With a highly decorated movement, automatic with micro-rotor, a thoughtful adjustable deployant clasp, and a suggested price of lower than 10,000CHF, could this be the best value on the market y...  

I have to say I have been a big admirer of the Tonda watches, both steel and the earlier WG variations. The movement, the proportions and the minimalist case and dial design all spoke to me. There is only one competitor you forgot to mention, namely Chopa... 

This is why we can find some similar proportions

Thanks for confirming!

The three other watches are all at a disadvantage compared to the Tonda, since they are manual wind only – your score for the PF-702 is heavily biased (imo) and devoid of any reference to how it feels when manually winding it. That would’ve been a fair an... 

We have actually parallel thoughts but in reverse thought patterns. I thought that I'd be showing my bias if I described the winding... I could invite criticism like "Patrick inherently likes automatics more than manuals." I was also trying to be very obj... 

Thanks i enjoyed reading it very much. Very thorough. I would choose the Tonda out of the 4 above, but the Chopard LUC 1860 is missing from the equasion i think. I tried on the Tonda 1950 in pink gold several years ago and as much as i was taken by the mo... 

I never had a Chopard L.U.C 1860 on my wrist for more than two minutes. I tried one on in Shanghai back in February this year. So I couldn't get an accurate sense of the watch. But I agree, it's a beautiful watch in the three-hand category with a nice mov... 

..........but the Lange is very special too.

I'm very fond of the Lange. And our PuristSPro member "Jocke" takes wonderful photos of it too!

I've seen the movement in the gold variants, and the aesthetics/finishing is just gorgeous. If they come out with a more interesting dial color on steel (like you said gray or even blue) then this watch would be irresistable!

I think Parmigiani really listens to customer feedback. You may have just influenced their product line! Time will tell! Thanks for reading and commenting! I presume from your avatar that you're a PML fan, that's my favorite from G.O.; double swan neck an... 

Hopefully we'll see some new interesting variants at the next Basel. I am a huge PML fan indeed (since I own one), that movement aesthetics is to die for! Glad you like it too!

Something thin and elegant would be a great contrast to the PML. Definitely try a Tonda 1950 when you can. And don't forget to try a black-faced version.

To my surprise they had all 3 of the new steel pieces. For me, the least interesting is the white (actually silver) one, feels kind of generic. The moonphase is quite beautiful, though I would've preferred if the date wheel was black also. My favorite is ...  

Wow, they got the moonphase already! That was just announced! The "Opaline Silver" does look less distinctive, but under-the-radar was likely the goal. Thanks for the photos! I like your taste!

Very nice piece indeed, all things considered! I would like to see it in real life very much! HAGWE! Best, HGL

You'll be able to see one shortly at your PF retailer. Hopefully there is one nearby. They're definitely cool timepieces. I really like the lugs.

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Thank you for the photos. Which one do you like more? I'm leaning towards black.

In fairness to Lange, they made a microrotor-wound Langematik that might have provided a more direct comparison with the Parmigiani. However, I think they are now using their microrotor movement only to power complications. They still make a three-handed ... 

The Langematik was a nice watch indeed. You're right, they do make a Saxonia Automatic. The reason why the 1815 was chosen was because the 1815 has a lower starting price point than Saxonia automatic. So why not a manual Saxonia you ask? Well, I chose the... 

It seems that nice watches are no longer the rarity. But nice watches that are highly functional and that are for sale at a somewhat reasonable price are the rarity.

If the watch costs 10; 000 CHF you get what you pay for ! It is worth it's price for sure. Thank you my friend. Best Regards Edward

But I don't feel a lot of emotions. To be honest, when I look at the new Toric Chronometer, I don't think they play the same league. Obviously, the Topic is much more expensive but I find it so more excinting that I would prefer to save money and directly... 

For someone getting into their first piece of haute horlogerie who pays less emphasis to case material and wants a three-hand dress watch with petite seconds. The Toric is definitely a complete package and a compelling value; gold case, date, large sweep ... 

I have a Tonda with meteorite dial in polished titanium case. Dated back before deciding to go for it, I find it the case size and also lugs are not nice and odd, but after trying it, it is very comfortably seating on my wrist, very close to my wrist and ...  

Titanium case is cool. Meteorite dial is super cool. Thanks for sharing this Stefan!

I'm noticing the titanium is of the harder variety to be polished like that. So Grade 5 Titanium. Good looking piece. And I don't think I own a titanium watch. Ceramic, yes; titanium, no. Meteorite dial, neither. Does yours have the Hermes strap?

Great article. Wonderful attention to detail and subject awareness. The watch itself is superb especially if movement finishing is the similar to the previous metals' version. Unfortunately Tonda does not hold value well.

Definitely a value play for those who want a well finished movement but don't require the status quo of having a gold watch. They don't hold their value well, but who knows, this one just doesn't have that much room to fall. It's definitely a sophisticate... 

from a technical point of view, the only thing I do not understand is the very small balance wheel. For accuracy, the bigger the better. But by all means, is regulated well it really does not matter (just a grumpy old man’s view).

The watch is 40mm in diameter. The movement is 30mm in diameter which is unusually wide for a movement and it fills up the case nicely with only 5mm of case material on all sides. Most watches with a 40mm diameter have a smaller than 30mm movement. The ba... 

My point is that there is a ratio between mainspring diameter and the balance wheel for accuracy.

Are you specifically referring to the diameter of the balance wheel? I can see the mainspring is very big, appears to be a single barrel design too. You're not referring to the hair spring inside the balance wheel are you? I didn't know there's an accurac... 

Movement diameter/2 should be the diameter of the mainspring barrel and the balance. The hairspring should be relevant to the balance wheel (as a logical consequence of the balance diameter).