Parmigiani - Tonda Transforma Chronograph

Parmigiani Fleurier – Tonda Transforma Chronograph

Parmigiani Fleurier presents a new watch, or is it a new pocket watch… or maybe a desk-clock? The new Tonda Transforma Chronograph is all of the above! 

The idea is very cool, during the day you’re wearing your wrist watch. Late at night you take it out of it’s holder and insert it into a holder made of macassar (ebony wood) and it becomes your table or nightstand clock. Fancy to wear a pocket watch on a chain? That’s possible as well with the

Parmigiani Tonda Transforma Chronograph.

Inside ticks the same movement as in the Kalpagraph and in the Pershing Chronograph, calibre PF 334, an in-house developed and produced chronograph caliber with automatic winding. Calibre PF 334 has a power reserve of 55 hours. Besides the chronograph, it also has a date function that is visible in a large aperture at the 6 o’clock position.

The two chronograph function is visible on the raised graphite-colored hour and minute counters (30 minutes and 12 hours), which are positioned at the 9 and 6 o’clock position. The silvered dial features a Côtes de Genève decoration, that is applied in Parmigiani’s own workshops. On the outside of the dial, is a relatively wide ring with tachymeter scale.

The actual watch is fitted inside a steel holder, that can be opened by simply pressing the two lateral push-pieces on the two lower lugs. By pushing the push-pieces the jaw-like holder opens up and the actual watch can be taken out. That can be clipped into the rounded steel fob watch holder, that also provides access to the chronograph pushers as well as the crown (for winding and setting). The steel fob watch holder can be extended by a steel chain, so that the Transforma becomes one of the classics of the watchmaking world.

A third way of enjoying the Parmigiani Tonda Transforma is to place it in a table clock holder made from macassar wood. Once the timepiece is positioned, the rotating presentation case starts up the winding mechanism automatically. At the end of the process, the table clock places the Transforma in a vertical position to make the time readable. Three small compartments on the side have been designed to hold the fob watch and its chain, the warranty card or any other Transforma components.

The steel Transforma is equipped with an Hermès alligator leather strap with deployant buckle and is available for € 24,500 Euro (including tax/VAT).

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Christiaan van der Klaauw - Aquarius Planetarium

Christiaan Van Der Klaauw – CVDK Planetarium Aquarius Planetarium Edition  

 

Astronomy – time in its purest form – is the source of inspiration for the well-known Dutch watchmaker and member of the prestigious AHCI, Christiaan van der Klaauw. And  now it’s combined with an engraving of the well-known Dutch master-engraver Kees Engelbarts. 
Christiaan van der Klaauw is specialized solely in the design and manufacturing of astronomical watches and now presents the first piece in a series of twelve unique watches: The Aquarius Planetarium. It is based on Christiaan van der Klaauw’s famous Planetarium watch, featuring the world’s first and smallest mechanical planetarium, showing the cycles around the Sun of the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

The solid gold dial shows one of the twelve constellations, in this case Aquarius, and is engraved by master-engraver Kees Engelbarts. The case is made of platinum and measures 40 mm in diameter, and is fitted with a sapphire crystal on both sides. Only one watch will be made of each zodiac sign. Every watch will be a ‘pièce unique’ and a collector’s item by its very nature. The other zodiac signs will only be made on special order, according to Christiaan van der Klaauw.
The Aquarius Planetarium is equipped with the world’s smallest heliocentric planetarium and displays the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn around the Sun. Centrally positioned are the hour, minute and seconds hand and to the lower right corner is a month indicator.

At the Christiaan van der Klaauw website, they created a flash animation that shows exactly how the planets of the planetarium orbit around the sun. There you can also find more info about the entire collection and points of sale.
Some final words… personally I would suggest to use blued hands, which improve the ease of reading the time, however the plain hands match better in terms of color. So I guess that’s a matter of taste. All together the Christiaan van der Klaauw offers a lot: the world’s first and smallest planetarium in a wrist watch, a fair sized (40 mm) platinum case and a solid gold dial that is engraved by Kees Engelbarts. Two Dutch masters have joined their forces for this unique timepiece.

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Press release - 2012
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Address
Christiaan van der Klaauw b.v.
Businesspark Friesland-West 47
8447 SL Heerenveen
The Netherlands
T +31 (0) 513 - 624 906
 info@klaauw.com
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