Browsing CategoryItalian Watches

The U-Boat Legacy In Time…

U-Boat watches have a heritage in watchmaking history that could easily lend itself to the story of a feature film. In 2000, Italo Fontana came across watch designs by his grandfather Ilvo Fontana, who was commissioned in 1942 by the Italian Navy to create high-performance, precision crafted time instruments of high quality standards to be worn by Italian military seamen. Ilvo Fontana’s original 1942 designs however did not see the light of day for more than a half of a century. After discovering his grandfather’s designs in 2000, the younger Fontana spent seven years working on U-Boat Watches, utilizing the…

Haurex Italian Time

When it comes to precision crafted timepieces, Swiss-made and designed models are usually the first thing that comes to mind.  Switzerland is indeed the origin and home of many prestigious watchmakers in the world today. And hundreds of prominent watch brand’s headquarters and factories are located in Switzerland…from Baume & Mercier and Ebel to IWC, Rolex and TAG Heuer. Interestingly Italy is also a leading watchmaking country. This comes as no surprise since Italian fashions and designs are heralded and highly regarded throughout the globe. Many popular watch brands have their roots and headquarters in Italy, including Officine Panerai, U-Boat,…