So often luxury watches are created in commemoration of a sport, a team, an alignment with a certain athlete or athletic achievement, that it’s a rare but welcome surprise when a brand celebrates something else entirely. Which is why we were excited to hear Parmigiani’s latest, the Toric Tecnica Carpe, is dedicated to sculptor and painter Edouard Marcel Sandoz, the founder of The Sandoz Family Foundation. Established in 1964 the foundation is dedicated to “the encouragement of entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as to the cultivation, of Swiss entrepreneurial tradition.” In 1996 they began working with little known watch brand Parmigiani Fleurier and over the years helped nurture it into the luxury label it is today.
To give tribute to the founder, mentor and artist, the brand drew upon Sandoz’s work as a sculptor. Working primarily with themes of flora and fauna, he was an avid lover of both science and nature, and used multiple mediums including wood, stone, bronze and clay to design creatures of great detail. To honor his work, Parmigiani focused on crafting a timepiece that could bring a scene to life with the same passion and vitality as Sandoz.
The watch is composed layer by layer, with specialty craftsmen required at each stage of the process. To begin, the engraver cuts out a scene with intricate details, curves and textures that is used as the basis for the timepiece’s aquatic theme. An enameller adds color, transparency, shading and depth to the watch face using “grand feu” enamel, before the dial is baked between 800 to 900 degrees Celsius (1,472 to 1,652 degrees Fahrenheit) to bring out the brilliant hues. Each carp is then individually sculpted and added to the completed watch face as appliqués.
Inside, the watch boasts a 586-piece movement with 47 jewels and a power reserve of 40 hours. Four complications are included: a minute repeater, a chronograph, a tourbillon and a perpetual calendar. The minute repeater is wound by a ring hidden under the bezel and chimes the hours, quarter-hours and minutes. The perpetual calendar is found on the watch face with a day display at 3 o’clock, date display at 12 o’clock and month display at 9 o’clock. The years (including a leap year indication) are found on the monthly counter.
