Turning Back the Clocks
The art of restoration seems to have fallen by the wayside of buying new, but, writes Melissa Lim, Parmigiani Fleurier prefers to marry the two
The art of restoration is alive and well at Parmigiani Fleurier
Haute horlogerie ranks among the highestgrossing industries within the luxury sector, with an undeniable emphasis on the new and glossy. Our consumption habits have altered radically to keep up with the constant stream of new timepieces ( or is it the other way around?), each one touted as “better than the last”. This shiny, showy veneer can often eclipse the very essence of watchmaking, which is nothing if not somewhat secretive, burrowed away in the lush greenery and snow- covered vistas of Switzerland. It’s in these serene, centuries- old workshops that the age- old appreciation for exquisite craftmanship and provenance is perpetuated.
It seems apt, then, that in the age of extreme distress and remorse for the state of our planet and consumption practices, we strive to value the notion of upcycling more and more. This is perhaps where the art ( and it is a real art) of restoration comes into play – and there’s no greater name to consider than Parmigiani Fleurier. With a cap of 5,000 new watches produced each year, this marque allows itself the time and space to hone its crafts, spread between multiple workshops across the Canton of Neuchâtel. In addition to its standard production, its factories also produce components for other renowned watchmakers as well as maintaining its restoration workshops.
Restoration lies at the very core of Michel Parmigiani’s horological journey: it provided him with a solid understanding of its history, craftmanship and respect for the art. His skill and passion particularly came to light during the Quartz Crisis in 1974, when the Swiss watch industry almost imploded and Parmigiani went against the grain by opening his own workshop in Couvet two years later, where he happily restored any watch, regardless of brand or age. His love for antiquarian horological restoration remains as evident now as it was more than 40 years ago. Along the way, Parmigiani met the Sandoz family, who made a fortune from pharmaceuticals and today own one of the world’s most noteworthy collections of pocket watches and automatons. The family entrusted Parmigiani to maintain this prized collection.
Today, the restoration workshop at Parmigiani Fleurier is a veritable treasure trove for antique afi cionados, where any given surface is topped with the most mesmeric pocket watches, clocks and music boxes. Among these treasures is a beautifully embellished frog automaton that propels itself forward by way of a complex system of hammers, which strike the frog’s belly – and if you wait long enough, it pauses after a few jumps to let out a croak. Staying within the animal kingdom, a delicate 75mm silkworm automaton ambles across the surface using a trigger piece on its front, contracting its front and back for motion. Finally, there’s a favourite of the collection, a 200- year old pistol automaton housing a songbird that pops out to surprise its audience.
This passion and respect for restoration permeates well into the brand’s current collections, where an objective is to offer future watchmakers an opportunity to restore in centuries to come. Active measures are also taken to nurture the next generation, with an effort made to mentor and educate, while every undertaking is documented step by step to aid consequent restorations. What better way to pay tribute than in the words of Michel Parmigiani himself, a soft- spoken albeit affable character, who says, “It’s a rare joy to restore a horological piece. To free it from the ravages of time and of men, to reinstate it within a temporal truth so essential to our memory.”
The next time you pick up a Parmigiani Fleurier, or any timepiece for that matter, consider the centuries behind the fi nal product. Think of all the individuals across generations who transformed static materials into a mechanism full of life … and those who, perhaps, performed a little resuscitation along the way.