It is a round steel timepiece characterised by its long proportions, which confers great elegance to the final product. The watch features a modern, urban design which is more refined than the brand's other classics, and reminiscent of the Tonda 1950. The calibre 3000 movement and its housing have been designed with extreme precision to produce a slim, refined case middle.
The subtlety of the Métro collection - a slight imbalance which gives it its character - comes from the fact that this watch is asymmetrical: it has two different profiles. Its left-hand profile, which is devoid of a crown, is the classic, conventional side, and displays the brand's iconic teardrop shape. By contrast, its right-hand profile features elongated lugs which extend to the crown, reaching around it to envelop the chronograph push-buttons on the men's version.
This asymmetry confers on the watch its subtly stylish identity; a touch of modernity that overturns conventions.
The aesthetic of the dials in the Métro collection uses the principle of contrasts to highlight a particular aspect of the piece. In this case, the chronograph complication stands out, thanks to the accentuation of its two minute and hour counters. On the grained white dial version, these counters are grey and highlighted by a blue disc; on the black or Abyss blue dial versions, they are outlined with Superluminova material which highlights them in the daytime and makes them glow at night. The two counters form a slanted figure 8, enhancing a characteristic sign of the Parmigiani Fleurier brand.
At the end of the production process, the master craftsmen finish each component entirely by hand, giving a result which cannot be reproduced by machine. The bridges are bevelled on a bench grinder, all the visible parts of the movement are circular-grained and the Côtes de Genève decorations add the finishing touch to the piece. The manual work invested in each calibre is immense.
This movement at the heart of the Métro collection is a technical marvel where industry, watchmaking and craftsmanship meet. It is a good illustration of an independent House which has reached the hig tops of fine watchmaking .
