The story of Enzo Ferrari’s valuable watch collection and how the Founder liked to give gifts of watches sporting the Prancing Horse logo on special occasions. Watches and intriguing tales from collector Sergio Cassano
Is well known that Enzo Ferrari received his first watch at his confirmation, a common gift for this milestone at the time. It was silver and was given to him by his godfather Anselmo Chiarli. His wife Laura would later demonstrate her own affection for him with a gold watch. This was the 1920s and Ferrari, who was already becoming a big star in the automobile world, was delighted to wear that seal of love: one to which he did not however remain faithful (I am referring to the watch of course). He sometimes swapped it for a Rolex Ovetto, which appeared on Ferrari’s wrist as a temporary replacement for that of the Consort, alternating the two according to a pattern that remains unexplained. Chance? I think not. Knowing the pungent subtlety of Ferrari’s subliminal messages, it is possible that these alternations were linked to something or other. Who knows? There was no doubt about which watch he wore on big occasions, however. It was arguably the best one he ever received. It was pink gold and given to him by Pirelli, the tyre manufacturer, in the 1950s. It was a Breitling. More on this later… To close this brief history of Ferrari’s watches, we need to fast-forward to the last few days of his life. On 4 June 1988, Pope John Paul II allocated an entire day to visit the Ferrari factory, its employees and its founder. It was a very famous day in Ferrari history…
Being seriously ill, the President did not receive his illustrious guest at Fiorano yet he did speak with him by telephone – from his bed in the house in Modena. And on Ferrari’s bedside table lay one of the two gold watches that Cartier had made, as unique pieces, for the occasion. Indeed, both watches had the date printed on them to mark that historic day. Now this personal history is complete, let us now consider one of the customs of this great communicator, which was to give watches as presents. They were precious objects to be given only on rare occasions and to people in high regard: drivers and employees who had particularly distinguished themselves. They were therefore very rare and a sign of personal recognition. Because Ferrari’s entire focus was on the racetrack at this time, and as a result of the company’s modest buying power, the quality of the gifts was often low and infrequently dispensed (because of his famously limited generosity).
This started during the pre-war period and from that point forth Ferrari didn’t change his habits, only ever ordering six watches (at most) at a time. From the 1950s Ferrari purchased almost exclusively from the Bolognese jeweller Gerardo Veronesi, the same jeweller that made his most beautiful gift: the horse in diamonds with a ruby eye, of which a dozen were made and given to women of distinction. It was about this time that the watches Ferrari gave as gifts started to be in gold. He chose the Super Royal make, esteemed but not excessively expensive, and drew up a special contract to have the famous Prancing Horse affixed – something that was done by his jeweller rather than the watch manufacturer.
In August 1951, Ferrari received his most treasured watch, a Breitling, which he later gave to a driver (Gigi Villoresi) in a fit of generosity. It was a chronograph in pink gold – model 1190, series 79748 – bore the mark of the master watchmaker no. 353, and had a 14-inch Venus 188 caliber. It also had the Prancing Horse logo engraved on the case with a burin and, although it’s not 100 per cent certain, Villoresi’s watch was very probably the same watch given to Ferrari by Pirelli. Says Villoresi of the above incident: ‘It was 1952. I knew that the Maserati was dying to beat the Ferrari in the Modena Grand Prix and also that it had the right car, the A6GCM. The Trident contacted me but the great Enzo found out about this and immediately wanted me to join the team. I was in that race and won with a Ferrari, finishing ahead of [José Froilán] Gonzalez’s Maserati. At the finishing line the Drake was over the moon, he took off the watch he had on his wrist and gave it to me.’ Knowing Ferrari, I wouldn’t have believed my eyes had I seen this. One must understand just how much rivalry he must have felt with the competing Modena make for him to be so unusually generous.
Nearly all the watches Ferrari gave were men’s watches, except for one female watch – a Super Royal. From that time and through the ’60s and part of the ’70s, the makes of watches the President gave as gifts changed and various Lemania (which manufactured a beautiful chronograph used by the racing team for manual timing), Rewel and Vetta pieces appeared. The Vetta watches were ordered from a Milan dealer, but only in small orders of six to eight pieces – with the exception of the famous Cartier. But what exactly was Vetta’s ‘Cartier’? It was a mechanical watch with a rectangular quadrant, similar to a famous model made by the French company – and Cartier was the name given to it by Ferrari. Yes, you read right, that was the nickname given to the watch at the company; the first watch to be acquired in a large number, which were then given to the entire racing department and also to the industrial department’s managers and various employees. It was the 1970s and as many as 400 pieces were ordered; however, the deal with Vetta was subject to exhausting negotiation, in the typical Ferrari style. They were priced at 70,000 lire, but the contract was signed for 35,000 lire. Not bad.
At this point in the story – midway through the ’70s – started the first deal with Longines, which replaced Heuer (who produced an electronic timing watch with the Prancing Horse printed on it, which Enzo never ordered, for Formula One track timekeeping). The partnership between Maranello and the Swiss watch manufacturer was very positive. A series of watches were made, the best of which were given as gifts according to the usual ritual. One Longines watch in particular deserves to be remembered. It was gold, with electronic timing, a quartz movement and date marker. It was very elegant, with the Prancing Horse printed on the lower part of the quadrant, and it was presented in a beautiful burgundy leather case to employees who had completed 30 years of service with the company. This represented the end of the phase when Enzo would personalise watches, as it was replaced by actual licensing agreements with watchmakers.
The first sign of this new approach started at a press conference at Maranello on 15 April 1983, with Enzo Ferrari and the President of Cartier, Alain Dominique Perrin. A new ‘Ferrari-Formula’ brand was created, under which a range of watches, leather goods, cigarette lighters, fountain pens and other merchandise were marketed. The operation was important because it signalled the start of a new era and also provided a way of protecting the Prancing Horse brand throughout the world. And in this, Cartier was the ideal partner. In the Montezemolo era the Ferrari watch custom has continued with top brands, with an emphasis firmly on high quality and prestigious brand image. First came Girard-Perregaux with a series of highprofile products, including some from its authentic collection, and then Panerai, which made numerous famous models inspired by Ferrari technology.
PUBLISHED IN Home, Styles BY Sergio Cassano ON 05.15.2010
Credit: Ferrari S.p.A. (www.ferrari.com)
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