Vintage Watches: Early Parmigiani Fleurier And The Enduring Appeal Of ‘Overbuilt’ Watches

How one man revived a Swiss village through a focus on old-school craft and how we collect these over-the-top pieces today.͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌   [STORIES]( [SHOP]( [SELL OR TRADE]( [LIMITED EDITIONS]( [Early Parmigiani Fleurier]( [Early Parmigiani Fleurier And The Enduring Appeal Of ‘Overbuilt’ Watches]( [There's something about an object that is so overbuilt it's hard to grasp why the manufacturer decided to go quite this far. In my mind, the best examples of "overbuilding" come from the car world. In terms of durability, try and drive a Toyota LS400 into the ground; it's just as hard to understand the business sense behind putting so much R&D and engineering into the groundbreaking Mercedes 300SL "Gullwing." But enough about cars, we're here to talk about Parmigiani Fleurier – a 20-something-year-old watch brand operating in, yes, Fleurier (aka "village of flowers").]( [The story of Michel Parmigiani founding his partly eponymous brand is very much the story of a village, as it is the story of a man. Let's go back to a watch world before luxury-sport-mania, "for exhibition only," and crypto. The year is 1996 and things are bleak for the Swiss mechanical watch industry, especially in the small town of Fleurier.]( [BY RICH FORDON]( [READ MORE]( INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE? [Hodinkee Private Sales]( The Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Classic and Ionica seen here will not be listed in the Hodinkee Shop but both are available for purchase via our Private Sales team. Both are complete with their full sets of box and papers. If you happen to be interested in these neo-vintage classics reach out to privatesales@hodinkee.com for additional details. LIMITED TIME OFFER [Shop Pre-Owned Watches]( MAKE SPRING CLEANING A BREEZE WITH HODINKEE [Spring Cleaning]( [Discover incredible content, shop new, vintage and pre-owned watches, and engage with an entire community by downloading the Hodinkee app.]( [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Email](mailto:shopnews@hodinkee.com) Disclaimer: All items are subject to availability. Prices subject to change without notification. Applicable sales tax and shipping costs not included. Products and offers may be withdrawn at any time. In the event of errors, typos, or omissions, this offer is void. This email was sent to {EMAIL} [Update your subscription preferences]( | [Unsubscribe from Hodinkee emails]( | [View in browser]( Hodinkee · P.O. Box 1129 New York, NY 10013 Copyright © 2023 Hodinkee, All rights reserved.