Parmigiani Fleurier has joined forces with the prestigious French master glassmaker Lalique for a new interpretation of the Clock 15 Days, a marvel of clock mechanics encased in the very finest crystal. This project was a feat of high precision workmanship from two great artisan companies.
Accustomed to minuscule watch components, the watchmakers at Parmigiani Fleurier had to shift their focus to a larger order of magnitude.
For Lalique, the challenge of this project was precisely the opposite. The surfaces of the clock’s five panels are much smaller and thinner than the threshold generally tolerated for working crystal. The crystal is adorned with Lalique’s characteristic motif, the Coutard fountain. This panel design represents a spray of water droplets, is reminiscent of both Art Nouveau in the close arrangement of the drops and Art Deco in their rounded shape. The end of each droplet is worked to achieve an exceptional shine, creating an extraordinary contrast with the satin finished crystal on its flat surface.
A powerful symbol of life and rebirth, here the Coutard fountain is associated with an ageless Table Clock a reminder that the possibilities for reviving the great classics are truly limitless. In addition to its aesthetic beauty, the tour de force of this clock is mechanical in an ingenious piece of workmanship, the Maltese cross stopwork for the power reserve indicator is located on the outside. Governing the winding of the barrel, and counting its rotations, the Maltese cross is a fundamental part of the power reserve in all timepieces.
This exclusive Clock 15 Days limited edition is available in three different crystal colors, classy white, deep blue or red. For each version, Parmigiani will be producing 15 pieces in total, with a rhythm of 5 clocks per colors/per year till 2015.