Parmigiani Fleurier’s La Rose Carrée Is A Once-In-A-Lifetime Watch For A 25th Anniversary

Parmigiani Fleurier’s La Rose Carrée is one of those just-because-we-could masterpieces that come along once in awhile to demonstrate how the craft of watchmaking can be raised to the level of art. Every millimeter of the watch was touched by the hands of artisans at the top of their craft, including watchmakers, restorers, enamelers, engravers, chain makers, case makers and dial makers.

First the basics: La Rose Carrée is a 64mm double hunter-cased pocket watch. Hinged cases cover both front and back, one over the dial and the other covering the decorated movement. It’s a grande sonnerie and minute repeater, which means it chimes the number of hours at the top of every hour. At every quarter, it chimes the number of quarters. And as a minute repeater, it chimes the number of hours, quarters, and minutes on demand. The movement is a working artifact. It was made by watchmaker and grand complication specialist Louis-Elisée Piguet sometime between 1898 and 1904, but it was never cased in a watch. It was acquired in 1990 by Michel Parmigiani, who stored it among the extensive inventory of other movements and components in his restoration workshop. It sat there for 20 years, awaiting a watch that would be worthy of it, and La Rose Carrée, which celebrates Parmigiani Fleurier’s 25th anniversary, was that watch.

Michel Parmigiani is no stranger to the art of restoration. He opened his first workshop in Couvet, switzerland, in 1976, and became known as one of the world’s most celebrated master restorers of watches. He created his own watch brand, Parmigiani Fleurier, in 1996, but has continued to operate his restoration workshop. He and his team of restorers brought the Piguet movement back to its original glory, and then some. It was restored and fully decorated, including engravings on the mainplate and bridges

The engravings take the form of a Rose Carrée, or squared rose pattern, a motif that is carried throughout the watch. The rose motif is depicted according to the mathematical proportions of the golden spiral, which, like the golden ratio and the closely related Fibonacci sequence, represents a pattern f perfect harmony and proportion. It’s a pattern seen in nature, including the inside of a seashell, which resembles a spiral staircase, and by the linear form that rose petals take when they start to whither. Both motifs are represented on the dial, using deep engravings that are then  covered with a translucent blue enamel.

The rose motif is engraved on the outside edge of front and back case covers, in a pattern so consistent and intricate that, from a distance, it looks like a row of perfectly set round-brilliant diamonds. The squared rose is also engraved on the mainplate and bridges of the movement, which can be seen under the back case cover. Engraving of the rose carrée motif was carried out by renowned Swiss engraver Eddy Jaquet. Between three and four layers of blue grand feu enamel were applied to the covers by enameler Vanessa Lecci. “The blue enamel expresses the color of a body of water as one would see it from the sky, with all the nuances and subtle changes in the shades of blue according to the various depths,” says Michel Parmigiani.

The time dial under the front cover is made of one large piece of black onyx, decorated only by the application of white gold hands, indexes and small seconds dial. The crown, at top, is set with a blue sapphire, and sheltered by an engraved square bow with blue grand feu enameling which is attached to a square-link chain, also designed according to the Rose Carrée motif. It was hand-crafted by Switzerland’s last traditional chain maker, Laurent Jolliet. Parmigiani Fleurier’s La Rose Carrée is a one-of-a-kind piece. Price on request.