Comments:
Tonda PF Chronograph Mysterieux - a unique, disappearing chronograph
Ref PFC908-1020001-100182
Photo credit: Monochrome
Parmigiani claims a world first novelty with its Tonda PF Chronograph Mysterieux.
On first glance the watch appears to be a time only 3-hander with central seconds.
But activating the monopusher at 7:30 transforms the watch to a 5-hand chronograph.
The 1st press of the monopusher "zeros out" the rhodium plated hands transforming them into chronograph hands and starting the measurement of elapsed time. Simultaneously, the hidden gold hands are revealed and continue to show the time.
The 2nd press of the monopusher stops the chronograph.
The 3rd press of the monopusher resets the rhodium plated hands to the time and hides the gold hands until the chronograph is activated again.
In this example, you can see that the chronograph was activated 36 seconds before the photo. The chronograph hour and minute collector hands are still at zero. The time, shown on the revealed gold hands, is 1:56.
This is a highly legible 12-hour chronograph with no subdials or perimeter scaling.
When not in chronograph mode, the watch is a clean, crisp, integrated bracelet sport watch with Parmigiani's typical understated luxury aesthetic.
The newly created caliber, PF053, is highly complicated with 60 hours of power and beating at 28,800 vph. The new caliber is beautifully finished, a real feast for the eyes.
Photo credit: Monochrome
I will attempt to post a video of the chronograph in operation. In the meantime, I'd be interested in your thoughts on this novelty from Parmigiani.
M4
Waiting for something like this, felt like they were getting there through the yearly evolutions
Really great, the only issue now is knowing there will be more dial colors, and holding for the right one...
I'm in the same boat Ian. I'm intrigued with the complication, now looking for a dial color that suits me.
Refreshing and ingenious
I am curious to see if the chronograph minute hand is a creeper or a jumper as it makes a big difference when timing events.
I'm searching for a video that answers your question. I believe it is a "creeper" but I'm not certain.
Have to see it in person to answer the question. I suppose it depends on the ease of distinguishing chrono hands from time hands when viewed in person.
now this is what I am talking about!
Great job here, PF! I have the OG Tonda PF in steel, so the design language speaks to me.
Here is my question.
There are two minute and hour hands each, but only one second hand.
Say I engage the chrono while the second hand is at 42 seconds. I assume it snaps to 0 and begins counting. then I stop the chrono 8 seconds later and reset it, which takes a total of, say, 9 seconds.
Is the second hand at 42+9=51 as it would be had I NOT run the chrono?
Or is it at 8 seconds where it was stopped with the chrono function?
That is a great question.
I look forward to the answer. I'm hopeful it "remembers" where to go to resume its proper seconds position with timekeeping relative to where it was before the chronograph was engaged.
It's at 8 seconds. The seconds carries on from the place it ended with the chrono functioning. If your'e fanatical about the seconds being perfect, the crown hacks so you can re-align again.
Happy to take a video of it if you'd like.
Another fantastic new invention by Parmigiani!
This mantra of hidden mechanisms resonates with me. It's like getting 2 watches in one. Amazing!
I really do love the Parmigiani Tonda PF line of watches and this just takes them to another level with this genius invention.
Marc
I find the innovation very interesting and very coherent with the minimalistic PF aesthetic.
But I'm not yet sure if I like this way of displaying the chronograph: it will take some more time for me to really know how I feel.
Thanks a lot for the presentation!
Best, Emmanuel
Refreshing release as usual from Parmigiani
I’m looking forward to seeing it next Saturday morning. The complication is truly intriguing, though I’m still wondering how legible the chronograph is in practice.
For me personally, this is THE best watch of all watches shown at W&W 2026.
If this doesn’t win a GPHG award this year, I would be extremely surprised and disappointed!
Very high praise AA. I also think it will be a front runner for best chronograph at GPHG.
As a fan of stealth in watches…
I definitely like this one! While a subtle seconds track (maybe I don’t see it) would be practical for a chrono I wouldn’t mind it not being there - how often do we actually time something to sub second precision and is the pressing of the pusher not the larger source of error?
For ultimate stealth you could pair this with a COS (crown operated system) from Habring, removing the pusher, too 😊👌🏻
Points well made. I visualize this chronograph being useful to time, for example, a road trip versus a 100M sprint.
For me personally, this is THE best watch of all watches shown at W&W 2026.
If this doesn’t win a GPHG award this year, I would be extremely surprised and disappointed!
Marvelous, just marvelous
I love central-minutes chronographs and can't heap enough praise on this design. Centralizing the hours too, in an automatic movement, at just 13mm total thickness--truly remarkable. Perhaps one might see this as a distant descendant of one of the dressier Mido Multi-Centerchronos. Hiding the second pair of hands when not needed is a masterstroke. Chapeau, Parmigiani.