he most important commodity a brand can possess to secure the long-term value of its watches on a market of ultra-wealthy collectors, where new and secondary have merged, is creative and strategic consistency – i.e. coherence and stability – which in turn substantiates the price a maker can expect to achieve for its current models. This is something many brands know but few practice: a revolving door of CEOs, changes in segment, style or communication, knee-jerk reactions to world events, and so on.

Some, on the other hand, have made this their mantra. Strategic consistency, including and perhaps more so when headwinds blow, ensures a form of serenity, grounded in a solid heritage. Yes, the need to adapt in a changing world remains but watchmaking, more than any other industry, demands patience and most of all confidence. This is, after all, a sector which over the past three decades has sought to distinguish itself from fast fashion and anchor its ship in the waters of high luxury.

Consequently, that the Sandoz Family Foundation is retaining ownership of its Watch Division is welcome news that ends years of “will they, won’t they” speculation regarding a potential sale and is a reflection of efforts made.

An epilogue at last?

Following the arrival of a new generation at the helm, the Sandoz Family Foundation began enquiries into a possible buyer for a division composed of several top-flight manufacturing companies that supply the structure’s one and only brand, Parmigiani Fleurier (read about how the division originated in a 2003 interview with Michel Parmigiani).

Then in June this year, it released a statement (in French): “Over past years, the Foundation and the Division’s management have developed realistic prospects for the Division and turned around a serious loss-making position. The Watch Division’s improved financial health and prospects for development were confirmed despite the current complex economic situation. Nonetheless, discussions have confirmed that the Division’s historic legal structure does not permit a sale in the usual market conditions.”

The Foundation began looking to sell its Watch Division at a time when the market was enjoying extremely favourable conditions and growing at unprecedented rates in all regions. Sales were soaring across every level of the population and in every segment, from the MoonSwatch to the Tonda PF. This in turn intensified demand for the Division’s industrial capacities, including Vaucher Manufacture for movements (clients include Richard Mille and Audemars Piguet) and Atokalpa for regulating organs (Patek Philippe and Chopard both have a stake in the company).

An article we published on Vaucher Manufacture, in which Hermès also has a share, records developments since Jean-Noël Lefèvre took over as CEO in 2019. In just a couple of years, the movement manufacturer quadrupled production and doubled sales).

A complete rethink

At the peak of this upswing, in 2021 and after a long career at Bvlgari, Guido Terreni took over as CEO of Parmigiani Fleurier where he launched a much-needed refresh of the collections to reflect quiet luxury (not yet a trend) and, as a man of taste, imagine a horological equivalent of sartorial elegance (read more on this here).

This clearly defined perimeter would – to come back to the opening paragraphs – bring coherency, legibility and the beginning of stylistic and strategic consistency that has served the brand ever since, with long-awaited profitability.

These framework conditions, which have evolved substantially, alongside discussions within a multi-generational Foundation whose other investments include the Beau Rivage Palace, Lausanne Palace and Château d’Ouchy luxury hotels, led to the decision that was announced in June.

Since then, the Swiss watch industry has come up against a significantly deteriorated macroeconomic climate (US tariffs plus persistently weak demand in China create uncertainties in the two regions that have driven growth in the twenty-first century). However, work done over a few years has laid much healthier foundations for the Division, whose future concerns not just the Sandoz Family Foundation but has ties with leading names, from Audemars Piguet to Richard Mille, Chopard, Hermès and Patek Philippe.

Purpose and direction

We met Guido Terreni at Watches and Wonders to discuss the year’s new releases and the direction he has given Parmigiani Fleurier since his arrival. He told us that “we address a customer who is not ostentatious. We are at the beginning of a story that we will pursue in this characteristically muted style, moving towards the very high end and also more towards a female clientele. Respect for a tradition must never become a cage: Parmigiani Fleurier proved this before anyone, back in 2004, with the Bugatti Type 370 and its revolutionary transversely positioned movement. The most important thing is to propose watches that have purpose and a clear direction.”

At 74, Michel Parmigiani — founder of the brand in 1996 after many years as an immensely talented clock and watch restorer, heir to a classical tradition in what were challenging years for Swiss watchmaking — remains honorary president. “Without his continued presence by our side, it would have taken me much longer to truly grasp the soul of the brand,” Guido Terreni insists.

Terreni began his “makeover” of Parmigiani Fleurier with the GMT Rattrapante and the Tonda PF, followed by the Tonda PF Sport in 2023 then the Toric in 2024. “We have built a brand with a comprehensive offering of refined luxury sports watches, always seeking the most elegant design possible.”

Hand-grained gold dial, the simplicity of a calendar with two co-axial subdials, meticulous finishing on gold: the new models unveiled in 2025 retain the brand’s characteristic eye for detail, with the benefit of the vertically integrated expertise embedded in the Sandoz Family Foundation’s Watch Division. “This emphasis on handcrafting doesn’t prevent us from exploring new technologies and innovative materials,” continues Guido Terreni. “We use Cermet, for example, a material that has a unique ability to reflect light and which elevates the watch’s luxury appearance. In fact this year we are presenting our first watch made entirely from Cermet.”

A discerning clientele

Prices for a Parmigiani Fleurier watch are high: CHF 92,000 for the new Toric Quantième Perpétuel in platinum and CHF 85,000 in rose gold. Too high? “The markets understand how much work goes into this type of watch,” Terreni replies. “Japan, where craftsmanship and aesthetic refinement are revered, was first to realise this. When I arrived in 2021, the brand had more than 200 points of sale but watches shipped on consignment. We have reduced this number by two thirds and reopened doors where we can be certain we are addressing the right customers: mature, connoisseurs, with high expectations. We now have around a hundred points of sale worldwide.”

As Guido Terreni reminds us, “no-one buys a Parmigiani Fleurier to show off their social status, but for taste and elegance, which money cannot buy. This requires a certain education, comes at the end of a horological journey and is irrespective of age.”

After years spent redefining strategy and aesthetic, while having no certainty as to the future of the division to which it belongs, the biggest challenge the brand now faces is to stay on course. This will not be easy in a market that has the potential to undermine the momentum that many brands have achieved post-pandemic.

“We must continue to express this creativity and present the brand clearly to customers, retailers and the media, to become more visible and emphasise how we are different through the product,” says Terrini. Parmigiani Fleurier’s main markets of Japan, the United States and Europe are also some of the oldest for Swiss watchmaking.

Not that the brand is ruling out younger markets: “There are knowledgeable customers everywhere, customers seeking discretion and refinement, who understand the value of intimate luxury. In truth, every culture has ways to express non-ostentatious living, which requires a certain independence of mind and personal philosophy. These are universal values that we set out to convey through our watches.”