Following the success of Europa Star’s ‘80th Anniversary Portraits’ column that we ran in 2007, we have decided to feature an exceptional portrait section in this issue as part of our special glamour section. The particularity about these portraits is that there isn’t a man among them. From Germany to Japan, Italy to Australia, France to the United States and the United Kingdom to Switzerland, there are some incredible women moving and shaking the watch business. Europa Star’s network of international correspondents decided to talk with some of the industry’s most talented women to find out how they have succeeded in the male dominated world of horology.

The personal life of Ileana Pisa and those of her own family are all closely intertwined with the very existence of the family business, Pisa Orologeria. This very important retailer, whose windows are devoted to watches in the haut de gamme sector, is located in the historic centre of Milan. Its origins date back to the 1940s to a small watch repair workshop managed by her father, Ugo, in association with his brothers, Divino and Osvaldo.
Today, Ileana (born in 1944) personally manages Pisa Orologeria, which she co-owns with her sister, Maristella (born in 1949), with the active support of the Director, Fabio Bertini. Recently, the third generation of the Pisa family has entered into the family business. Stefania, Ileana’s daughter, takes care of external relations, and Chiara, Maristella’s daughter, handles the firm’s administration.
For Ileana and Maristella, the strength of their company and the great reason for their pride in it resides in the strength of the family tradition. Yet, they are also proud of having made Pisa Orologeria not just a simple sales outlet where products pass from the window to the wrist, but of turning it into a space of true creativity and research, where they continue the 60-year old tradition of offering the best and latest products from the watch industry, both from a technical and a design point of view.
The most recent accomplishment of Pisa Orologeria is the opening—on May 20, 2008—of the first Rolex Flagship Store in Europe. Located on the Via Montenapoleone in Milan, this boutique was realized in close collaboration with the parent company, Rolex, in Switzerland. (PDV)


Source: Europa Star October-November 2008 Magazine Issue