Gucci In Focus

Founded by Guccio Gucci in 1921, the Florence-based House of Gucci reached such giddy peaks of chic through the ‘60s and ‘70s that it was championed by the three biggest female celebrities of the era – Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy Onassis – and that was before you had to pay for an endorsement.

But behind the scenes it was civil war. Board meetings erupting into fisticuffs, directors punched out left and right.  Guccio’s successor, son Aldo, was turned in to US tax authorities by his own son and served time as a result, As the brand suffered, its power diluted by over-exposure and too many moves downmarket,  the company tiptoed towards bankruptcy.

Amidst the mayhem, a watch brand – Gucci Timepieces, a collaboration with Severin Montres - somehow emerged into the light of day in the 1970s, and survived to become part of the company’s spectacular resurrection under the creative direction of Tom Ford and the ownership of luxury brand giant PPR.

It is still there (Gucci bought Severin in 1997) contributing to a revived Gucci’s standing as one of the ultimate luxury brands, and still capable of springing an instant classic onto the market, like the Gucci Twirl, the bangle wrist-watch with a reversible “twirl” dial that debuted four years ago.

Other styles in the current women’s watch collection play cleverly on old motifs that have surfaced regularly in the Gucci fashion collection, like horse-bits in the Tornabouni range.

As you would expect, Gucci remains one of the fundamental jewellery watch makers. And just to prove it is not afraid of an aesthetic challenge, it recently launched the I-Gucci, which manages the difficult trick of making digital elegant.