Parmigiani Fleurier has something that money cannot buy ? authenticity. Other big names in watchmaking are not shy about using its expertise, and it is time the broader watch enthusiast community took notice.
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When one thinks of a watch manufacture, one might think of the sort of building shown here, or something like it. Certainly, Swiss watch brands do lean into this idea, emphasising the well-worn story that Swiss watchmaking began as a part-time affair, when farmers had downtime in winter. This is sort of true, but it certainly does not reflect the history of watchmaking definitively. Nevertheless, when one visits a manufacture, even a spruced up one, there is usually a visual somewhere that showcases the original premises ? often the family home of the watchmaker. This connection with the original spirit behind whatever brand you might think of helps to elevate brand perception, or so the thinking goes. 
When the watchmaker is alive and active in the business that bears his name, everything goes to another level entirely. In the case of Parmigiani Fleurier, you need not imagine the original watchmakers at work ? Michel Parmigiani is still very much an active part of this manufacture. The website for the brand makes much of this fact, recognising that most big names today cannot put a face to their watchmaking. Of those that can, quite a number demur because their founders are not watchmakers. Michel Parmigiani...