Introducing: The Parmigiani Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante Verzasca
Not all introduction articles around Watches and Wonders 2025 need to be overly complicated. This will be a particularly simple one. Would you like to be done and dusted in a single sentence? Fine! Parmigiani released a green version of the Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante. That’s it! You can jump to the next article to keep up with the barrage of this year’s W&W releases.
Now, if you would rather have a little bit more of a background, or if you maybe aren’t familiar with the GMT Rattrapante just yet, let’s continue in more detail anyway!
The Parmigiani Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante
Parmigiani Fleurier surprised us with a new approach to the popular GMT complication in 2022. The house has a knack for presenting complications in the simplest way possible. In short, its complicated watches are made to look simple. That notion resonates with me as I usually prefer base models from an aesthetic point of view.
The Parmigiani Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante is no exception. It might even be the ultimate representation of this philosophy. The idea is deceptively simple. Imagine yourself flying to a destination in another time zone. Your Tonda PF GMT seems unable to help out since it only displays a single time on its ultra-clean dial.
Then you hit the pusher in the lower-left lug. The rhodium-plated white gold hour hand jumps forward. Another hour hand, this one in rose gold, emerges from under the first. It now points out your home time. As you zip through time zones, you keep adjusting the local time. Once your journey brings you back home, you click the pusher in the crown. The local hour hand jumps back, hiding the rose gold hand once more as if nothing ever happened. It’s as if the watch says, “Are you calling me a GMT? I am no GMT. Only two hands to be seen here!” Of course, some may argue that the watch is not a GMT anyway without a 24-hour hand, but we’ll put that aside for now…
Verzasca green
So, what is the “Verzasca” in “Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante Verzasca”? The name refers to a valley in the Tessiner Alps in the Swiss canton of Ticino. The region lies east of Locarno, in the south of Switzerland. Do you remember that impressive bungee jump in the opening scenes of GoldenEye? That was filmed on the 220m-tall dam in the Lago di Vogorno in the valley.
If you have even been to the region, you will recognize the green color on the Parmigiani Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante Verzasca’s dial. The hue sits right in the middle of the rich spectrum of fresh greens and blues you will spot in the valley’s crystal-clear waters.
Paired with a barleycorn guilloché motif, the resulting dial looks striking. The subdued teal-ish green with its fine texture makes for a refreshing and versatile dial.
Parmigiani Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante Verzasca specs
Under the striking new dial, you will find the very same specifications as on the 2022 release. The Parmigiani Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante maintains its 40mm diameter, and it’s still fashioned out of stainless steel with a reeded platinum bezel. The 10.7mm-thick case offers water resistance to 60 meters. The watch comes on an integrated stainless steel bracelet in the classical Tonda style.
Inside ticks the beautiful F501 micro-rotor automatic caliber. This 215-component movement has a 4.97mm profile and provides a 48-hour power reserve. It ticks at a slow 21,600 beats per hour, which you cannot see from the front as there is no seconds hand.
Initial impressions
I promised to keep this article simple, and that goes for my initial impressions too. I love the Parmigiani Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante Verzasca! Parmigiani’s “present it simple” approach resonates deeply with me. This execution of the popular GMT complication is as elegant as they come. It isn’t merely aesthetically beautiful but also better from a user-experience perspective. The simple pusher approach means you don’t even have to take the watch off to adjust it.
I have one GMT watch in my collection, a Rolex Explorer II ref. 16570. I often struggle to set it because I have to take both hour hands into account as well as 24 hours and the date. Setting it, then, isn’t exactly intuitive. The Parmigiani Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante might not be as precise and detailed in its display, but it certainly solves those ease-of-use challenges.
The Verzasca green looks great on the Parmigiani Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante. It feels fresh and clean while presenting the perfect backdrop to the rose gold home-time hand and crown pusher. In short, kudos, Parmigiani!
What do you think of the new Parmigiani Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante Verzasca? Let us know in the comments below!
