Brand History: U-Boat

The story goes that Ilvo Fontana was given a contract to design watches for a select group of Naval officers. Though the project was never completed, the original designs included many of the highlights of what, in the hands of his grandson Italo Fontana, became the U-Boat Classico.
   
This is the brand’s signature watch, and it is unmistakeable. It will have a leather strap with a steel band. It will also have a slab-like stainless steel case, wide and thick, its blocky crown fitted with a hinged protective cap and positioned on the left of the watch rather than the right for freer hand movement.
    
And it will have a simple if oversized dial, with only 4, 8, and 12 in arabic numerals, easy for a pilot to read even in the worst weather or the darkest night.
   
When Fontana debuted the Classico a decade ago, it was seen as interesting accessory rather than advanced horology.
    
Since then, however, his watches have become more sophisticated – he has just introduced his first complication watch - even as he has played with materials and design, delivering watches in gold, titanium or ceramic, studding them with diamonds and rubies, but never straying too far from the original.