Michel Parmigiani opened his restoration workshops in 1976 at the young age of 26, working on some of the most iconic creations of the past that are now exhibited in the world’s most prestigious museums.

He launched his eponymous brand in 1996 and presented his first wristwatch model – the Toric – in 1998 and set out- with this first model- the design elements that became his signature. Long downturned lugs, knurled double step bezel and javelin hands.

The name Toric is derives from the toroidal forms evident in the collection's stepped, fluted bezels, drawing design inspiration from Hellenic and Roman architecture and the Golden Ratio's sublime curvature.

The Toric Tourbillon was introduced in 2000 and the brand’s first tourbillon model. Using the celebrated Girard Perregaux Three Golden Bridges 9900 ébauche, Parmigiani completely reworked the design offering a timepiece that was incredibly avant garde for its epoch. Doing without a dial per se and replacing it by a ¾ top plate elegantly decorated with Geneva waves pattern.

Interestingly as the movement had to be inverted to appear on the dial side the hour hand sits atop the minutes hand.