It’s a great sign for the industry when new brands of watchmakers are introduced for it means that the market is alive. Even more so when they are born from an Italian designer. They are usually small companies, commonly known as “micro–brands” and their creators make use of today’s communication technology both to finance and to publicize using, for example, popuar crowdfunding such as Kickstarter.
But a good idea is insufficient in guaranteeing a long term success. What’s needed today are original ideas and a solid base particularly in watch making where the birth of a new brand is so flourishing and their number so inflated that to survive and emerge is a feat for only a few.
As soon as you become aware of one, the following one is already on the launch pad; many are born and many die. Tommaso Masera is obviously a watch aficionado, he has worked in the industry till 2016, he is a designer and evidently aware of how important it is to succeed to design an attractive model capable to set itself apart from the rest.
Founder of the firm bearing his name, located in Hong Kong and operating in China, he has created from an extension of Studio Masera, the brand AttoVerticale which has molded his personal idea of the mechanical watch with the capability to build a technologically original model (the movement is a “baguette” type with manual winding) and selling it at an incredible price thanks to his chinese production.
Let’s not pinch our nostrils when we cite China since it offers both competence as well as high level suppliers (Volvo, which is Chinese owned, has opened their main branch there for its luxury brand Polestar), it’s rather more troublesome when some Swiss brands improperly misuse the “Swiss Made” hallmark.
Tommaso Masera must be an aficionado and keen connoisseur of high end watches since he has clearly taken inspiration from Corum‘s Golden Bridge, a collection for watch enthusiasts produced in three versions: two with round case and one with a tonneau case, they all feature a baguette movement with 30 hours of maximum power reserve (no information regarding the movement’s frequency have been released by the brand).
The case of an AttoVerticale is a ring in sandblasted anodized alluminium (the case is a frame) produced in many colors and the caliber, produced and worked Côtes de Genéve, is mounted between 12 and 6.
The winding crown is positioned on the twelve and sitting between two shoulders and has been etched the logo AttoVerticale while the interchangeable leather strap follows the interior of the case so as to function as the case bottom.
Though extremely light the watches AttoVerticale have one flaw, they are quite thick an obvious design choice since its movement is rather thin. The price is an incredible €294 which for an alluminium watch with such a unique caliber is an outstanding value. My preference however is for the tonneau case.
(Photo credit: Masera Design)
Gaetano C @Horbiter®
