Baselworld is over. What were Gucci Timepieces & Jewelry’s main attractions this year?

In 1972, Gucci was one of the first fashion houses to enter the world of watchmaking. This means that Gucci Timepieces & Jewelry is an important player at both fashion shows and at exhibitions like Baselworld. Every year we present major innovations, concerning both our stand and our watch and jewelry collections. As a celebration of our 40th anniversary, this year we launched a new timepiece in our Bamboo range, a magnificent piece created by Gucci’s Creative Director Frida Giannini that was extremely well greeted at Basel. This unique piece beholds the strength of Gucci’s tradition, thanks to the iconic Bamboo it features. This natural material was first used by Guccio Gucci after the war as a bag handle to combat a lack of raw materials. This icon is particularly well-suited to watches and jewelry. Another of the major innovations at the Gucci stand this year was the Timepiece Artisan Corner. This area increased curiosity around our booth, and many visitors to the fair stopped by to enjoy this special demonstration which conveyed the Brand’s timeless principles.

Tell us something more about Gucci Timepieces’ craftsmanship.

What I would like to underline is that few watch companies own their own Swiss watch workshops, and Gucci can be listed among them. All Gucci Watches are manufactured in Switzerland’s famed La Chaux-de-Fonds region. The majority of processes are carried out in our workshops, including modern CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing) techniques, CNC milling machines, laser welding, polishing, cleaning, and case assembling. The Timepiece Artisan Corner can be considered a traveling exhibit on the art of creating a timepiece using our Gucci expertise: every stage in the watch creation process is carried out by an artisan in front of an audience. They can also admire a wide range of tools, from the beeswax and the natural lacquer used for the Bamboo bezel, to the needles and cotton reels used to create and sew the 1921 case.

Traditions, very well… but what can be said of Gucci Timepieces & Jewelry in today’s world made of pixels and microchips?

Gucci Timepieces & Jewelry is at the forefront of this field too. At Baselworld we’ve just presented our new Digital Shop-in-Shop, which can be considered a natural evolution of traditional shops. At selected points of sales we are about to install a 42” screen that describes Gucci’s Icons in a central area of the shop. Next to this, an iPad enclosed in a counter presents Gucci timepieces or jewelry catalogues that consumers can leaf through thanks to the touch screen technology. The combination of the Video Screen and the iPad in Shop-in-Shops are certainly a pioneering innovation and a new milestone in our path.

Which innovations have you brought to Gucci Timepieces & Jewelry since you arrived as CEO three years ago?

Since I arrived at Gucci Timepieces & Jewelry three years ago, I have been mainly working to strengthen Gucci’s iconic heritage within the company, by reducing the number of collections and models. This minimalist approach has since enabled an increase in the production cycles.

What do you think makes Gucci Timepieces & Jewelry so special?

Along with their craftsmanship, our watches and jewelry pieces are unique in that they are directly inspired by the Gucci Brand’s touchstones: Bamboo, the Horsebit, the Marina Chain, Diamantissima, and the many other icons which have been reinterpreted in our collections in remarkable ways. The Horsebit is the perfect choice for watch bangles (the Gucci 1921). The Diamantissima motif, Gucci’s very first icon, brings purity and lightness to the collection which bears its name. Emphasizing Gucci’s heritage in Timepieces & Jewelry in this way has brought great results in a short time.

What do you see in the future of Gucci Timepieces & Jewelry?

We have created major partnerships in the world of music with The Recording Academy®, the GRAMMYs®, and the Latin GRAMMYs®, as well as establishing a “Gucci Timepieces & Jewelry Music Fund” in collaboration with the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation. These collaborations provide the world of the arts, and in particular the world of music, with a window on the luxury world. Consequently, Gucci Timepieces & Jewelry is actively developing an international network to support musicians and musical creations. This network will encourage and support international artistic exchange programs. A rich source of emotion and passion, these partnerships will influence our creativity and our collections; so in some measure, the future of Gucci is already here.