TIME² Interviews U-Boat's UK Director Patrick Moufarrige

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The U-Boat story began in the 1930s. "Once upon a time, back in the days of black and white, Ilfo Fontana was making watches in his atelier in Lucca, Italy," enthused the exuberant 20-something UK director of U-Boat Patrick Moufarrige. "Working out of his family home he designed a timepiece for the Italian navy that he named U-Boat," he explained.

Although those original designs were never commissioned and the company shut down in the early 1940s, almost half a century later Ilfo’s grandson Italo Fontana found those designs and began breathing new life into them. Determined to preserve the original concept while turning his grandfather’s dream into a reality, Fontana has created collections, such as U-Boat Classico and U-Boat Flightdeck, that have taken the watch world by surprise.

"U-Boat is the perfect balance between classic and crazy – it’s a billionaire’s beach watch," said Patrick Moufarrige, pointing to the U-42, a diving watch with a 53mm dial and a crown on the left, leaving the wearer’s hands free to swim and dive. Moufarrige is a U-Boat devotee, who is clearly following in his father’s footsteps. Mounir Moufarrige is U-Boat’s CEO and a longtime luxury industry stalwart, having served as CEO of Montblanc, Chloe and Dunhill. "I want to be here in 50 years to turn around and say, that was me," added Moufarrige.

See U-Boat watches for more styles.