Founded in 1996 by Michel Parmigiani, thanks to the support of the Sandoz Family Foundation, Parmigiani Fleurier has quickly become one of the quiet giants of exquisite Swiss watchmaking. Thanks to their connection to the Sandoz family, Parmigiani Fleurier has been able to draw from technical resources that rival those of the biggest brands in the business. With access to Vaucher Manufacture, suppliers of movements to Richard Mille, Hermes, and other powerhouse brands, Parmigiani Fleurier certainly has the watchmaking heft behind them to perform just as well on the international stage as anyone else, even if their name isn’t as recognizable as some others. Offered here we have the Kalpa XL from the Kalpa collection, launched in 1998 and named after a cosmological unit of time corresponding to one day in the life of Hindu’s god Brahma equivalent to 4.32 billion years. Boasting a stainless steel tonneau-shaped construction with a unique shape and profile thanks to its unusual lugs and swooped bezel, the end result is a watch with a presence on the wrist that few brands have ever achieved. Sporting a light champagne dial with a guilloche engraved periphery, the Kalpa XL showcases Parmigiani’s impressive craftsmanship. Offered as a complicated variant of the Kalpa XL, the exact variant we have here is the Hebdomadaire, with an 8-day power reserve – as indicated by its power reserve indicator at 12 o’clock that is joined by a date display, all of which are balanced by a running seconds subdial at 6 o’clock.

Exploring Parmigiani's wonderfully exuberant sense of style and impressive watchmaking, the Kalpa XL Hebdomadaire goes where few watchmakers, except for Parmigiani, would dare go.