The story of Pisa unfolds to the beat of a well-timed chronograph, marking every period with precision and aplomb, very like the watches that adorn its shows. Right here within the coronary heart of vibrant Milan in the beginning of the twentieth century, the Pisa household – hailing from the picturesque countryside of Emilia-Romagna – turned their passionate ardour for timepieces right into a budding occupation.
Divino Pisa, the second eldest of 13 boys, had developed a ardour for micromechanics and watches in the beginning of the twentieth century and, collectively along with his two youthful brothers Osvaldo and Ugo, laid the muse for an enduring watchmaking legacy that may prolong far past his kin. Divino, who started working as a watchmaker and engineer in Milan within the early Thirties, based the primary Italian watchmaking college, whereas Osvaldo opened a workshop laboratory in Milan in 1940, the place he labored as a watchmaker.
With an space of simply 15 sq. meters and a window overlooking the road, this was the birthplace of the Fratelli Pisa’s first workshop on Through Verri.
Osvaldo’s ardour for working with the smallest watch parts rapidly aroused the curiosity of many passers-by and a loyal buyer base quickly developed. His expertise was such that he was the one one in Italy who may restore the Jaeger-LeCoultre caliber 101, the smallest mechanical motion on the planet.
Sadly, the Second World Warfare introduced every thing to an abrupt finish.
However in 1946, the cussed Osvaldo resumed his work, this time urging Ugo to assist with gross sales so he may dedicate his time to the laboratory. Within the post-war growth, the identify Pisa grew to become synonymous with luxurious and precision among the many Milanese bourgeoisie and an more and more worldwide clientele who shopped on the retailer.
Because of Ugo’s entrepreneurial spirit and Osvaldo’s technical experience in watch restore, the workshop discovered new momentum.
Within the Sixties, Ugo’s aptitude for recognizing rising expertise catapulted Pisa 1940 into the highlight, with horological masterpieces from Rolex, Piaget and Vacheron Constantin adorning his assortment. The cautious curation of manufacturers and watches, mixed with the avant-garde window shows, attracted an more and more refined clientele of film stars, influential businessmen, sports activities figures and even worldwide greats equivalent to American-Greek soprano Maria Callas and actress Joan Crawford, each of whom attended Turned common visitors in as we speak’s “Salon of Milan’s Haute Horlogerie”.
Pisa discovered new house owners within the subsequent technology
After Ugo’s loss of life in 1971, the Pisa torch was handed to his daughters Grazia and Maristella, affectionately generally known as the “Women of the Time.” Along with Osvaldo’s nephew Fabio Bertini as the corporate’s industrial director (he grew up within the laboratory earlier than shifting as much as gross sales), they continued the Pisa ardour and assembled a number of rising artisans who aligned with their father’s ethos.
In 1987 Pisa Minuti was launched. It provided distinctive timepieces that captivated the discerning tastes of its prospects and represented a contemporary various to the timeless collections of Pisa 1940.
Maristella says: “With Pisa Minuti, the watch grew to become an object that anybody may put on and alter like a vogue accent.” The curated number of unconventional and restricted timepieces was very nicely obtained by Pisa’s common prospects and as soon as once more proved that the corporate was all the time one step forward.
Pisa 1940 grew to become synonymous with watchmaking sophistication and status within the Nineties. Because of the household’s stable relationships with numerous producers, they have been in a position to work collectively to develop unique watches for retailers that instantly grew to become objects of want amongst prospects.
This enlargement affected not solely enterprise but additionally affect, as Pisa additionally organized unique previews of latest merchandise at Swiss watch festivals, which grew to become extremely anticipated occasions amongst guests. This led to Pisa cementing its standing as a purveyor of positive timepieces and curator of beautiful experiences.
A notable restricted version timepiece is the elegant Bulgari Octo Finissimo for Pisa 1940, launched in 2022. That includes a bronze dial with a satin 45-degree angle end harking back to a blacksmith’s sketch, the good-looking titanium mannequin is critical on account of its inspiration from the Earth’s magnetic clock designed and constructed by Divino Pisa in 1957.
Earlier watch manufacturers Pisa has labored with embody Panerai, A. Lange & Söhne, Vacheron Constantin and IWC.
The enlargement of mono-brand boutiques
The 12 months 2008 marked an necessary chapter within the historical past of Pisa within the Nineteen Forties, when the corporate opened a Rolex mono-brand boutique at Through Montenapoleone 24 – the primary in Europe. “The connection of belief that we now have constructed over time with the Swiss producer led us to collaborate within the design of a three-story boutique with the values we shared: rigor, modernity and precision,” explains Maristella.
This was actually a turning level as simply over 50 years in the past Ugo championed a comparatively unknown model known as Rolex in his store.
The primary Patek Philippe boutique in Italy opened in the identical 12 months. Its location on Through Verri was historic, because it was the identical house that when housed the primary Pisa workshop.
It was additionally proper subsequent to the Pisa multi-brand boutique, a big and trendy temple of haute horlogerie devoted to the very best manufacturers on the planet.
In 2010, Chiara, the scion of the Pisa household, enriched the corporate together with her modern imaginative and prescient. Her arrival heralded revolutionary advances, equivalent to opening the corporate to the world of bijou, a imaginative and prescient she shared together with her mom Maristella.
Additionally, in January 2016, she led the whole transformation of the Pisa multi-brand boutique on Through Verri, reworking it into a brand new flagship retailer with over 1,000 sq. meters of house, together with a jewellery salon that homes a few of the world’s finest maisons in addition to two trendy laboratories It is very important us to supply quick service and assist in keeping with the very best high quality requirements.
Pisa started its subsequent mission: to remodel the Through Verri into “Through del Tempo,” or the Avenue of Time. This started in 2018 with the opening of a Vacheron Constantin boutique, adopted by the opening of a Hublot boutique in 2022 and an A. Lange & Söhne boutique in 2023.
This mixture of mono- and multi-brand shops kinds the cornerstone of Pisa’s distinctive enterprise technique: to supply customers an unparalleled and immersive luxurious expertise.
The way forward for Pisa, of Pisa
Below the management of Chiara, now CEO of Pisa 1940, the corporate has restructured its administration to answer the quickly evolving retail panorama and segmented its actions into specialised however synergistic divisions. This restructuring displays a dedication to development and innovation, in addition to a dedication to buyer loyalty.
The corporate’s appointment of executives below the age of 40 in key departments underscores a notable funding in younger leaders. This alerts Pisa’s confidence within the drive and contemporary views of younger leaders and reinforces the saying “Collectively we develop stronger” – a philosophy that continues to drive the family-run firm ahead within the extremely aggressive luxurious retail market.
Among the many newly launched initiatives is one which corresponds to the unique ethos of the founders of Pisa: the transmission of watchmaking tradition. That is achieved via immersive buyer experiences, typically in collaboration with watch manufacturers, the place pleasure merges with schooling.
There are “watch laboratories,” interactive workshops wherein guests acquire sensible perception into the complicated craftsmanship of timepieces below skilled steering. Distinctive experiences equivalent to manufacturing facility visits are an alternative choice that enables prospects to totally immerse themselves within the fascinating world of watchmaking.
One other approach Pisa 1940 maintains watchmaking tradition is thru its in-house journal “Time to Time,” which is accessible in all boutiques and in addition delivered to prospects. All of those initiatives underline the corporate’s unwavering dedication to customer support, which incorporates boutique workshops that provide immediate service and repairs by watch specialists.
Along with the atmosphere of the trendy, elegant boutique and the breadth of Pisa’s choices, there may be additionally a complete catalog. With over 30 watch manufacturers – from family names to unbiased area of interest manufacturers, protecting a variety of timepieces from minimalist to grand issues – Pisa serves a clientele that’s as various as it’s world. Regardless of its sturdy home focus, the corporate’s worldwide buyer base has grown, with a good portion coming from Asia, the Center East and North America.
This has led to an replace of Pisa’s service protocols to bear in mind completely different cultural nuances, from language to social gestures, whereas all the time remaining trustworthy to Milanese savoir-faire.
Pisa 1940 has by no means overlooked its heritage even because it seems to the long run. The corporate all the time strives to place the shopper on the coronary heart of its enterprise on-line and offline, guaranteeing that digital interactions meet the excessive requirements of private service.
This mixture of custom and innovation ensures that Pisa not solely continues to draw guests, but additionally turns them into lifelong visitors.
