Every detail in this week’s meticulously choreographed transition from the reign of Queen Elizabeth II to King Charles III has been about continuity.
So it is appropriate that King Charles has stuck with the watch he has worn in public more than any other, his Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Chronograph in yellow gold.
Although a prestigious and complicated timepiece in precious metal, it does chime with the King’s passion for sustainability.
The watch, probably made in around 1996, is thought to have been bought on a skiing trip to Switzerland in the late 1990s, and has been regularly seen on the King’s wrist over the past 30 years, particularly for significant occasions such as the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Parmigiani Fleurier no longer makes the Toric Chronograph, but continues to create high end pieces in the Toric family including the Toric Hémisphères Rétrograde (CHF 34,100), which won the Travel Time Watch Prize at the GPHG Awards in 2017.