TONDA PF XIALI CALENDAR – A WORLD PREMIERE WITH A CHINESE COMPLETE CALENDAR – Palladio Jewellers

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January 22, 2023

TONDA PF XIALI CALENDAR – A WORLD PREMIERE WITH A CHINESE COMPLETE CALENDAR

More than just a calendar, Xiali is an ode to the calendars and civilizations of the world through the Swiss mechanical art so dear to Parmigiani Fleurier since its founding.

“This year is indeed a very special year. This is a project that I’m very attached to, and it is the nucleus of this year’s collection. The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Xiali Calendar is a complete Chinese calendar, born from Michel’s passion for cultural calendars. And it is very dear to me because it is also about respecting and understanding different cultures. What sets civilizations apart is the ways in which they interpret time. The Chinese calendar is among the most difficult calendars to master because it’s both a solar and lunar calendar together. For the first time on the wrist, you will be able to see all the elements of the calendar that are not cyclical. It has been a great challenge to master,” says Guido Terreni, CEO of Parmigiani Fleurier.

XIALI: The CHINESE TRADITIONAL COMPLETE CALENDAR

With all the poetry and culture it represents, Xiali takes its name from the translation of “Chinese Traditional Complete Calendar.”

Throughout history, man has sought to control time, to predict and chart its flow, in order to better organize the rhythm of social, religious and agricultural life.

The calendar, which is universal, allows us to identify dates that are inscribed like milestones in the flow of time.

Parmigiani Fleurier has long been fascinated by this cultural phenomenon and presents the Tonda PF Xiali Calendar, an extremely complex creation that follows up other special editions devoted to re-creating the Gregorian and Muslim Calendars and which is the third to have been developed by Parmigiani Fleurier in one of its unparalleled areas of expertise.

The calendar functions are among the most fascinating, mirroring civilizations and societies, receptacles of belief, and indefinable phenomena such as the movement of shadows, alternation of seasons, and the mysteries of the lunar cycle. Together, such phenomena play a vital role in human activity.

LUNAR SOLAR CALENDAR

The Chinese Calendar is complex, as it combines elements of both a solar and a lunar calendar, which are calculated separately and then synchronized. This is accomplished by the addition of an extra lunar or intercalary month. This 13th month, which allows the two cycles to coincide, occurs approximately every three years. Finally, the Chinese calendar divides the solar year into 24 solar terms, or breaths, which symbolize the agricultural calendar.

The New Year appears according to precise rules and takes the name of the month that precedes it. The calculation is complex but allows us to follow the seasons and to set the Chinese New Year at the arrival of spring, which varies between the end of January and the end of February in our calendar — between January 21 and February 19.

SIXTY-YEAR Period

Unlike the Gregorian calendar, which names the months and numbers the years, the Chinese calendar names the lunar years and numbers the months. The names of the years are repeated on a 60-year (sexagesimal) cycle, but the calendar including dates, days and months is calculated on the basis of astronomical observations and varies. Because these calculations vary, it is impossible to make a “perpetual” Chinese calendar. However, Parmigiani Fleurier’s creation goes as far as it is possible to go in creating the most complete, and most precise, Chinese calendar in the form of a timepiece. The numbering system of the time units is based on the combination of a decimal cycle, the ten Celestial Stems, and a duodecimal cycle, the twelve Earthly Branches.

The 10 Celestial Stems serve the function of assigning elements to seasons and the planets — water, wood, metal, fire, and earth. The 12 Earthly Branches correspond to the signs of the zodiac: each is represented by an animal, which designates the years of the sexagesimal cycle and will influence the destiny and character of human beings born in that year.

THE RADIOGRAPHY OF CIVILISATIONS

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“Calendars are a radiography of civilizations. It’s something magical because the calendar comes from the
observation of humans as well as of nature. Nature is full of codes that are beautiful to discover. It’s always
harder to talk about nature when you are in an urban area. It’s better to immerse oneself in nature and its
rhythms in order to create and to stimulate creativity. By observing nature, one can travel through history and
trace the development of civilizations. I think of the Maya and the Toltec cultures, which had calendars that
were very similar to the Chinese calendar. Calendars were born from a need to understand nature’s seasons,
to plan the times for sowing seeds and harvesting crops, to anticipate and manage the winter’s cold and the
summer’s heat. The calendar exists because we need to anticipate the phenomena of nature’s nurturing,”
-Michel Parmigiani, Founder and Master Watchmaker.

THE TONDA PD XIALI CALENDAR - MULTIPLE ELEMENTS AND COMPLEX INFORMATION

To the movement’s extreme aesthetic refinement, Parmigiani Fleurier has added horological substance on a comparable level. The noblest, most historic complication, which is directly in line with Michel Parmigiani’s watchmaking practice as a restorer, was chosen to enliven Rosa Celeste: The minute repeater.

This rare timekeeping rose features cathedral gongs. Their exceptional length, spanning one and a half trips around the movement, brings a deeper, richer sound, a more sustained vibration and a more palpable intensity. In order to allow this potential to be fully expressed, the case has been carefully designed to optimize the sound of the movement.

AN IMPERIAL PURITY

In addition to extending the calendar theme so dear to Parmigiani Fleurier, the Tonda PF Xiali Calendar also reinforces the sartorial codes of the Tonda PF collection. The entire development and design process of this timepiece was a balancing act. Complication does not necessarily mean complexity. The challenge of creating such a calendar has been pushed to the very last detail while ensuring that the codes of the Tonda PF collection are respected. The multi-level dial, with rhodium-plated 18ct white gold appliqués and skeletonized hour and minute hands, is executed in Imperial Red with a “barley grain” guilloché pattern enhancing its surface.

The stainless steel case has a knurled bezel in 950 platinum, while the integrated bracelet, in the same material, promises comfort and elegance on the wrist. As is customary at Parmigiani Fleurier, the caseback is open to reveal the movement and its decorations through a sapphire crystal. The Côtes de Genève finish and skeletonized oscillating weight in 18-carat pink gold bring lightness and openness to this exceptional calibre.

THE DIAL EXPLAINATION

1. Subdial at 12:00
1st level: name of the year
2nd level: animal
3rd level element + ying/yang

2. Subdial at 09:00
Month number (1 to 12)

3. Subdial at 03:00
Day number and indication if today is a long or short day

4. Subdial at 06:00
Moon phase indication

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Caliber
PF008 – COMPLETE CHINESE CALENDAR, MOON
PHASE INDICATOR
Power reserve: 54 hours
Frequency: 28,800 Vph (4 Hz)
Jewels: 42
No. of components: 353
Diameter: 32.6 mm
Thickness: 6.9 mm
Decoration: Côtes de Genève, beveled bridges
Oscillating weight: 22ct rose gold¸ skeletonized, polished
and sandblasted

Case
Polished and satin-finished stainless steel with platinum
950 knurled bezel
Diameter: 42 mm
Thickness: 12.2 mm
Crown: Ø 6 mm, screwed-in
Glass: ARunic anti-reflective sapphire
Case back: sapphire glass
Engraving on case back: serial number – “PARMIGIANI
FLEURIER”
Water resistance: 100 m

Dial
Color: Imperial Red
Finishing: Grain d’Orge guilloché
Indices: 18ct gold rhodium-plated appliques
Moon phase: blue aventurine

Hands
Hours and minutes: 18ct gold rhodium-plated
skeleton delta-shaped
Seconds and calendar: rhodium-plated steel

Bracelet
Polished and satin-finished stainless steel
Closure: stainless steel folding clasp

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CONTACT

604.685.3885
604.685.3851 (fax)
sales@palladiojewellers.com

Address

Palladio Jewellers
900 West Hastings St.,
Vancouver, BC V6C 1E5

Hours

Monday to Saturday:
10am – 5:30pm

In order for us to maintain physical distance
guidelines, you may be required to wait before
we can allow you access to our showroom.

Get the

Palladio experience

Book a personal consultation for a beautiful experience from beginning to end.

CONTACT

604.685.3885
604.685.3851 (fax)
sales@palladiojewellers.com

Address

Palladio Jewellers
900 West Hastings St.,
Vancouver, BC V6C 1E5

Hours

Monday to Saturday:
10am – 5:30pm

In order for us to maintain physical distance
guidelines, you may be required to wait before
we can allow you access to our showroom.