Parmigiani Fleurier has received the Chronograph Prize at the 2026 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) for its TONDA PF Chronographe Mystérieux. The distinction comes as the Maison celebrates its 30th anniversary. It rewards a complication that expresses Parmigiani Fleurier’s creative ambition: to advance the mechanical arts by reimagining the conventions of Haute Horlogerie.
The Chronographe Mystérieux belongs to the signature the Maison has developed with TONDA PF: Invisible Complications. The approach rests on a simple belief: the highest level of mechanical sophistication need not reveal itself to the eye. After the GMT Rattrapante in 2022 and the Minute Rattrapante in 2023, it is the third world premiere to emerge from this philosophy.
By rethinking both the architecture of the chronograph and the way its function appears on demand, Parmigiani Fleurier affirms a conviction: innovation in watchmaking finds its fullest meaning when it enriches our experience of time while preserving the harmony of the object. The prize recognises an approach that goes beyond technical virtuosity and points to new directions for contemporary watchmaking.
Guido Terreni accepts the Chronograph Watch Prize at GPHG 2026.
“Every restoration teaches you that the most beautiful mechanisms are not always the ones you see. With the Chronographe Mystérieux, the Maison’s watchmakers have given that lesson a new form: a complete chronograph that knows when to step aside.”
Michel Parmigiani, Master watchmaker, restorer & founder of Parmigiani Fleurier
“This distinction, in the year of our 30th anniversary, means a great deal to us. It recognises the talent of our teams and our determination to keep exploring new paths in Haute Horlogerie. With the Chronographe Mystérieux, we set out to rethink one of the most emblematic complications of our craft. True innovation, we believe, is not about displaying ever greater complexity, but about turning that complexity into an experience that is more intuitive, more personal and more beautiful.”
Guido Terreni, CEO
TONDA PF CHRONOGRAPHE MYSTÉRIEUX: THE INVENTION OF AN INVISIBLE COMPLICATION
Powered by the integrated calibre PF053, developed specifically for this watch, the TONDA PF Chronographe Mystérieux reinvents the chronograph display. Five coaxial hands share a single axis: civil hours and minutes, and chronograph hours, minutes and seconds. At rest, the chronograph hands sit exactly over the time display, and the dial reads as a pure three-hand watch, free of subsidiary counters.
A single pusher at 7:30, governed by a column wheel, controls the entire sequence. Because the hidden chronograph hands follow the current time, the first press returns them instantly to 12 o’clock. As the pusher is released, the three clutches engage in synchronisation and timing begins from zero. A second press stops the measurement. With the third, a mechanical memory of civil time, inspired by the rattrapante principle, guides the chronograph hands back into exact alignment with the time display, and the chronograph disappears.
The result is a mechanical innovation that turns the complication into an on-demand function, invisible until it is called upon.
