More than just a calendar, Xiali was born out of Michael Parmigiani's passion for cultural calendars, and how civilizations each interpret time in unique ways. Parmigiani Fleurier uses Swiss mechanical art to pay tribute to the many cultures of the world, and has found a unique challenge in the Chinese calendar, as it combines both a solar and a lunar calendar — and for the very first time in watchmaking, both calendars are exhibited on a single dial.

With all the poetry and culture it represents, 'Xiali' takes its name from the translation of "Chinese Traditional Complete Calendar."

Built around Parmigiani Fleurier's critically-acclaimed Tonda PF platform, this new Xiali reference debuts a World Premiere complication of Parmigiani's own creation: a compete calendar which adheres to the traditional Chinese calendar. Its unique complexity is due to the combination of both a solar and a lunar calendar, which are calculated separately and then synchronized.

This is accomplished by the addition of an extra lunar or intercalary month. This 13th month, which allows the two cycles to coincide, occurs approximately every three years. Finally, the Chinese calendar divides the solar year into 24 solar terms, or 'breaths,' which symbolize the agricultural calendar.

Finally, the New Year appears according to precise rules and takes the name of the month that precedes it. The calculation is complex but allows Parmigiani to follow the seasons and to set the Chinese New Year at the arrival of spring, which varies between the end of January and the end of February in the traditional Gregorian calendar — between January 21 and February 19.

The Parmigiani manufacture calibre PF008 powering the watch retains a staggering degree of complexity, but it's all contained within the Tonda PF's standard 42mm case, which remains water resistant to 100 meters and svelte at 12.2mm thick. It is characterized by its "Guilloché Grain d'orge" (Barleycorn) dial in 'Imperial Red', a final nod to the importance of the color red in Chinese culture — the watch's ultimate source of inspiration.