The Bertolucci brand was founded in Neuchâtel in 1987 by Remo Bertolucci. Born near Pisa he was a qualified engineer in micro-mechanics and as fate would have it, he fell in love with a young Swiss girl who was holidaying with her parents on the Italian Riviera. At her behest, Remo followed her back to Switzerland in 1965.
Remo joined the family business, an important workshop for the assembly of mechanical watches, and became passionate about the profession to the point where he decided, some years later, to form his own company. With an in-depth knowledge of watchmaking and the industry, Remo founded Bertolucci SA and developed his first collection of watches based upon inspirations from his Mediterranean childhood … the pebbles one finds at the seashore.
From there, the everyday influences of the Renaissance and art of Remo Bertolucci’s Tuscany Riviera came into play and his watch creations juxtaposed refinement and sensuality, the movement of the sea with the voluptuous form of Italian woman, sound with smell; in short the fusion of the infinity of the Italian lifestyle with the undisputed expertise of Swiss watchmaking.




OUNI
Various 18 carat yellow and rose-coloured gold watches. 36 mm x 14.5 thickness, decorated with full-cut diamonds and gemstones – sapphires, tsavorites, spessartites. Mother-of-pearl dial, domed sapphire crystal, Swiss quartz movement (ETA EO1.701), time set by corrector in caseback, satin strap, water-resistant to 30 metres.


Bertolucci re-surfaces
In 1999, Remo Bertolucci had a serious accident and the family sold the company to a group of investors that sadly resulted in it more or less disappearing from the watch landscape. However, in 2005, Bertolucci SA changed hands and its new owners, the Dickson Group (Dupont, Harvey Nichols etc.), appointed Philippe Belais as the brand’s President and CEO towards the end of that year.
Philippe Belais needs little or no introduction, nevertheless it is important to note that his past experience with Péquignet, Alfred Dunhill and latterly Van Cleef & Arpels, gives Bertolucci an important and knowledgeable leader in both its restructuring and international rejuvenation.
“I’ve always had a passion for brands that tell a story and as it happens, Bertolucci started out in the watch industry at the same time as I did,” Philippe Belais explains. “Consequently, taking over the brand at this juncture is not only a challenge, but also, because of its uniqueness, a fantastic adventure for me.
“ Bertolucci is coming out of a coma,” Belais admits. “I’ve already managed to revitalize many of the distributors the brand had but that’s partially because retailers liked the orig-inal Bertolucci watches and appreciated that the company was created by a man and his love story for a woman and his fascination for watches. There are many clients that have been waiting for the products to re-appear. In Europe, the brand had disappeared; in Italy there’s been nothing since 2002 and Japan used to represent 18 percent of the brand’s business. Today it’s at zero.”




VOGLIA
18 carat white gold watch hand-set with full-cut diamonds (FGH VVS). Laquered dial, sapphire crystal, satin strap with ardillon buckle, Swiss quartz movement (ETA 976.001), water-resistant to 30 metres. Also available in 18 carat yellow gold and in stainless steel.


New ‘Bertolucci’ collections
At BaselWorld 2006 Bertolucci quietly and discreetly reappeared and by the end of the year there were four new original, eye-catching collections available … Ouini, Voglia, Oleane and Serena … a fact that certainly helped appease all the distributors and retailers that had lost contact with the brand whilst it was in its coma. But now, the brand’s creative juices have really begun to flow and the Fascino, Uomo, Vir and Doppia collections have also seen the light of day, offering an excellent addition to the top-end of the watch scale.
All of the new collections have been conceived with the founder of the company’s concepts in mind: Italian creativity and elegance combined with traditional Swiss craftsmanship. Asked how he foresaw the steps over and beyond the launch of the new collections, Philippe Belais immediately explained that the re-launch of the brand was not a short-term project but one that he anticipated taking at least five years.





SERENA GARBO
Stainless steel case decorated with full-cut diamonds. Mother-of-pearl dial, sapphire crystal, Swiss quartz movement (ETA 976.001), alligator or calf strap, water-resistant to 30 metres. Also available in 18 carat yellow gold.



“Firstly there’s the foundation, secondly the re-construction and finally the development,” Philippe Belais explains. “We have to re-conquer the confidence of our distributors and retailers, establish a long-term strategy with them and also re-open the Asian and South American countries.”
Bertolucci was and still is renowned for its design and creativity. As Beatrice Rouhier, Bertolucci’s Marketing & Communications Director acknowledges, “Bertolucci watches are based on the 4cs … curves, comfort, construction and creativity ... and each one is an elegant mixture of two cultures, Italy and Switzerland.”
To underline the continued close links to Italy, the visuals in the new Bertolucci brochure/catalogue and advertising campaign that Béatrice has produced rely heavily on the appeal of the Italian Riviera and, in particular, Portofino. However, the underlying message is clear for everyone to see … Bertolucci’s innovative and imaginative Swiss watches are back!


Source: Europa Star February-March 2007 Magazine Issue