What is so special about Swiss-made watches? How important is it?
To be honest, a lot of brands today claim their product is 100% manufactured in Switzerland. That is not always true. Some brands make their components in the Far East and are compiled in Switzerland. The difference between these brands and Parmigiani is that we are 100% made in Switzerland. This means that every component of the watch is Swiss made, which is a big seal of quality. Parmigiani is a small independent brand – we are not part of big watch groups such as Swatch or Richemont. Every component is made in-house and we manufacture everything from A-Z. We know exactly what we are doing and it is a seal of guarantee for the customer. If a Parmigiani watch is bought, the customer should be aware that everything is real and of Swiss-made quality.
What sets you apart as a brand?
We want to be different. If you buy a Parmigiani, you are not going to have the same watch as everybody else. If you buy a Rolex, which is a really good watch, you should know that tens of thousands of people will have the same Rolex. We only make 6,000 pieces and hoping for 10,000 but that’s it. So, from the moment you buy a Parmigiani, you are buying something different. We are not about marketing and pushing sales – we are about enabling people to live and experience something special.
What’s the price point chart for the Parmigiani watches?
Previously, on average, it was around 25,000 Swiss Francs. However, last year, we launched a collection that is more affordable so currently, it is around 20,000 Swiss Francs.
Tell us more about the iconic Kalpa collection for men and women.
When we launched the brand almost 20 years ago, we decided to make not a special watch because we wanted to make sure that when our customers would wear Parmigiani, they would be asked by everybody what it was. We continued on in the same way for 10 or 12 years and we earned the market however the retailers wanted something more contemporary, something that could be easily sold to people who do not have much knowledge on watches. So we decided to make something more common. Then, we decided to launch another watch that is easier to wear and easier to sell – the Tonda. Now, we are working on the Tonda range a lot because we realized that we could make some complications out of it and it is a very interesting watch. Both the Kalpa and Tonda lines are two iconic and successful collections for Parmigiani.
TONDA 1950 SQUELETTE
KALPA COLLECTION
SIHH is coming very soon. I know it’s too early to talk or say anything about the novelties but what can we expect?
I will give you a few hints. We will continue with the Tonda line because there are a lot of things we can develop. We are working on a new skeleton to show people our high quality movements. There will be new Tonda skeletons for both men and women; ultra thin watches that are going to be aesthetically of high quality. A really big part of the watch will be on the aesthetics part of the movement. That’s one of the things you can expect to see at SIHH.
How do you assess the brand’s performance in the Middle East?
It’’s a big challenge for us to penetrate the market because people here like very established brands.
Our strategy here is to show that we are different; hence we will approach the market with our partner, Damas hosting one-to-one meetings and special events. We do not want to be huge on advertising campaigns or billboards – just a few big stones that we can work around.
We are noticing nowadays a huge drive for women to look for the male size watches. What is the brand doing to cater to this type of potential clients?
If you look at the Metro collection, we did something special this year. We launched an affordable and mechanical ladies watch. It is a 100% Swiss made movement and it has all the same qualities of a men’s watch.
Nowadays, women do not care about the “bling bling” factor of a watch. They are looking for real watches.
At SIHH, you will see the ultra-thin mechanical watch that totally fits in with the trend.
Three things our readers don’t know about Parmigiani?
I could tell you ten but I will stick to three.
- We are 100% Swiss made.
- We are an independent company. Our owner is private and creates watches because of his passion for the art of watch-making – not for money.
- We are different. If you want to look and be different, then you must invest in a Parmigiani watch.
Interviewed by Lara Mansour Sawaya
