THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL OF WISDOMAUTOMATON

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© Parmigiani SA | 2016

Inspired by Chinese mythology

Design by Alexia Steunou,

Parmigiani

PF670

Number of jewels: 42

Height: 350 mm

Diameter: 132 mm

Hand-wound by key

Time-setting by key

8-day power reserve

Frequency: 2.5 Hz – 18,000 Vib/h

Hand-bevelled main plates

and bridges

THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL OF WISDOMAUTOMATON

SPECIFICATIONS

Model

Movement

FUNCTIONS

Hour and minute

Dragon automaton turning in a 1-hour circuit

Pearl of wisdom automaton escaping 6 times

an hour at random

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BASE Material Rock crystal and rhodium-plated

solid 925 silver

Individual numbering and Unique

Model engraved on the back

Hour crown: Rhodium-plated

solid 925 silver

Waves: Supporting the hour index,

made from solid 925 silver

and set with imperial jade

Key: Stainless steel and 18 carat

yellow gold

DRAGON

Material Hand-forged silver, polished

and set with gold scales,

themselves set with jade

in varying shades from imperial

green, light green, white, yellow,

orange to brown-red

PEARL OF WISDOM

Material White gold ball set with precious

stones, ranging from ruby

to sapphire and then a diamond,

surrounded by 18 carat yellow

gold flames

© Parmigiani SA | 2016

A symbolism already featured in the Cat and Mouse

automaton, the Tempus fugit (Time Flies) metaphor

is taking on special philosophical significance in

2012, inspired by Eastern mythology. In homage to

the Chinese year of the dragon, Parmigiani is reinter-

preting the famous legend of the carp who became

a dragon and has decided to feature it, a founding

myth in Chinese civilisation, using the representation

of an imperial dragon in the pursuit of the pearl of

knowledge.

THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL OF WISDOMAUTOMATON

3 | 4 THE MYTH

According to legend, only a carp which has managed

to present itself at the Dragon gate, after many at-

tempts to travel up the river, receives the honour of

being transformed into a dragon. This parable is the

story of the student who wanted to serve the Empe-

ror. The carp changing into a dragon here stands as

a symbol of perseverance. The pearl represents im-

perial wisdom. Forming an inseparable duo, «they al-

lude to social climbing within the imperial hierarchy,

to power, wisdom and protection against negative

influences», explains Swiss sinologist Estelle Niklès

van Osselt.

Composed of nine animals, a highly positive num-

ber in symbolic terms, the imperial dragon featured

by Parmigiani has the head of a camel, the eyes of a

demon, the ears of a cow, the antlers of a deer, the

neck of a snake, the paws of a tiger, the claws of an

eagle, the belly of a mollusc, the scales of a carp, and

the mane and beard of a lion. The shape of the nose,

which is very distinctive, looks like a mushroom, a

symbol of good luck.

With the idea of «Tempus fugit», Parmigiani illus-

trates the concept of the eternal march of time. In

this work, using a mechanism developed by Parmi-

giani, the dragon travels one revolution per hour, in

pursuit of the incandescent pearl which escapes the

dragon’s clutches six times an hour; each time the

pearl moves, a gong sounds to alert the owner.

© Parmigiani SA | 2016

KNOW-HOW

With a desire to show the highest respect for the sub-

tleties of the master craftsman’s expertise at each

step, with Le Dragon et la Perle du Savoir (The Dragon

and the Pearl of Wisdom), Parmigiani is demonstra-

ting the scope and richness of its knowledge of haute

horlogerie. First sculpted from wax, the dragon’s body

is then cast in three sections. The solid silver cast is

then expertly chiselled. The body, covered in scales,

is the most complex operation. Each of the 585

scales*, made of natural jade, is designed, cut and

then set one by one in the precise form required, and

then riveted individually across the entire body, for-

ming a complex assembly of precious elements. The

flamboyant dragon is decorated in shades of green

jadeite - taken from a very rare and prestigious col-

lection which offers an exceptional range of over 150

stones - and white, yellow, orange and red jades. The

claws and moustaches are made of solid white gold,

the eyes from rubies and the tongue from carnelian.

The pearl of wisdom is a solid white gold sphere sur-

THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL OF WISDOMAUTOMATON

4 | 4

rounded by golden flames, which is set in a cameo of

precious stones including white diamond, ruby, and

orange and yellow sapphires.

The base, which contains the mechanism, repre-

sents the river up which the carp is swimming. It is

cut from a block of rock crystal, with the movement

visible through its transparency. The gilded silver

ring showing the 12 Chinese hours (1 Chinese hour

is equivalent to two hours) turns every 24 hours. The

fixed indexes are made from jade.

A unique piece of watchmaking art formed of almost

1000 components, it took more than 5800 hours of

work and the involvement of the most prestigious ar-

tisan craftsmen, from the sculptor to the goldsmith,

the gemmologist to the gem-cutter, the jeweller to

the setter, the visualiser to the designer to

the clockmaker.

*Normally formed of 117 scales, 81 (9x9) of which are

male and 36 (9x4) female, the Parmigiani Imperial

Dragon has 468 - a number which can be divided by 9,

a key component in the design of an Imperial Dragon.

© Parmigiani SA | 2016