Mechanical Wonders: Three Centuries of Mechanical Art in Tokyo

To mark its 30th anniversary, the Parmigiani Fleurier Manufacture will present the “Mechanical Wonders” exhibition in Tokyo from September 19 to 24, 2026. It will be on display in Gallery 3 of the 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT at Tokyo Midtown.

For the first time in Japan, the exhibition features six historic masterpieces from the Maurice Sandoz Collection, which are preserved by the Fondation Édouard et Maurice Sandoz (FEMS) and were restored by Michel Parmigiani.

These objects, dating from the early 19th century, demonstrate the mastery with which watchmakers, goldsmiths, and inventors of that era combined mechanics, music, movement, and the decorative arts.

The exhibits include:

A sector-display watch by Perrin Frères, in which the hours and minutes are displayed via an unusual sector display, and a quarter-repeater strikes the time audibly.

A golden automaton frog that moves forward and croaks.

An Ethiopian golden caterpillar whose eleven movable segments create a deceptively realistic, undulating crawling motion.

A perfume bottle featuring a clock, a musical mechanism, and an animated scene, combining timekeeping, sound, and movement in a miniature ensemble.

A singing bird set in a gold handle for a walking stick, whose hidden mechanism makes the bird sing and move.

As well as a Jacquemart clock depicting the scene “Moses Striking Water from the Rock,” featuring a repeater function.

These historic timepieces serve as the starting point for Parmigiani Fleurier’s contemporary watchmaking.

The exhibition shows how the knowledge gained during restoration—regarding energy, sound, proportion, and mechanical construction—is applied to new watches.

This connection is particularly evident in the La Rose Carrée and the Carillon Tourbillon, which are also on display in Tokyo. While the La Rose Carrée integrates a historic Grande Sonnerie and minute repeater movement by Louis-Elisée Piguet into a newly designed pocket watch, the Carillon Tourbillon combines a four-gong carillon, minute repeater, a 60-second tourbillon, and a power reserve of at least ten days.

^{Parmigiani Fleurier Carillon Tourbillon}

The presentation is complemented by the Toric Anniversary Collection and three contemporary complications from the Tonda PF line. The Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante, Tonda PF Minute Rattrapante, and Tonda PF Chronographe Mystérieux are part of Parmigiani Fleurier’s concept of “invisible complications”: the technical functions remain largely hidden and only become visible when activated. The GMT Rattrapante allows for the discreet display of a second time zone, the Minute Rattrapante provides a mechanical display of minute intervals, while the Chronographe Mystérieux integrates its chronograph function into the dial in a particularly understated manner.

To mark its 30th anniversary, Parmigiani Fleurier is also bringing back the Toric.

The Toric Anniversary Collection includes the Toric Petite Seconde, Toric Quantième Perpétuel, and Toric Chronographe Rattrapante. All three models are limited to 30 pieces each and combine hand-hammered gold dials with intricately crafted gold movements.

“Mechanical Wonders” illustrates how Parmigiani Fleurier views historical mechanics not as a stylistic template, but as living knowledge: restoration becomes the starting point for new technical ideas, complications, and forms of contemporary haute horlogerie.