Founded by Marco Mantovani in 1985 in Milan after a visit to the Basel Fair, Locman began its life as a design consultancy firm for other brands.
“Business was going quite well,” Mantovani explains, “but the real turning point came in 1997, when we decided to focus our mission entirely on producing our own brand of watches”, Mantovani acknowledges. “ It was then we decided to move our headquarters from Milan to the Isola d’Elba. Here on Elba, surrounded by the people and the things I love, I find inspiration for all my future plans.”
Marco Mantovani was born on the island of Elba in 1961 and his return to establish the headquarters of Locman there along with the technical laboratories and an assembly department at the Marina di Campo, was because as Mantovani explains, “Elba is inspirational, it’s a nice place to work and it has now become a part of the brand’s philosophy.”
Today, Locman has 160 personnel, which includes its production facilities in Milan where 25 master watchmakers work in one of Italy’s most modern factories.




DIAMOND TONNEAU
Available in three sizes with dials in mother-of-pearl or primary colours and half- or full-pavé. Quartz chronograph movement.

TOTAL DIAMOND
The first diamond-set aluminium watch available in small and medium sizes set with 2.5 or 3.25 carats of diamonds. In the photos, the case is set with white diamonds and the dial with brown diamonds. Quartz movement with a bracelet in pearly alligator leather.




CRAZY HORSE
Polished stainless steel case (45 mm) equipped with a Miyota quartz chronograph movement. Date at 3 o’clock, black and white mother-of-pearl dial with coloured finishing, printed Roman numerals, iguana strap, water-resistant to 100 metres. There are different Crazy Horse models including one with diamond-set bezel and lugs.

MARE
Carbon Fibre and titanium watch (47 x 51 mm) equipped with a Miyota quartz chronograph movement. Date at 3 o’clock, carbon fibre dial, luminescent hands, domed mineral glass, synthetic rubber or Cordura strap in various colours, water-resistant to 100 metres.


Creativity is the byword
From the beginning of the Locman brand, Marco Mantovani designed the striking collections using unusual materials such as wood, titanium, carbon fibre and aluminium. Stainless steel models were also amongst the options and more recently diamonds and gold have also become significant features. The bold forms of the watches combined with the Italian flair for design ensured that there was and remains a positive reaction to the timepieces throughout Italy and in the United States, where Mantovani developed strategies to expand the brand’s business by opening branches in New York and Los Angeles.
“Our approach to watchmaking is all about creativity. We are more concerned with how the watch looks rather than what’s inside,” Mantovani explains. “It’s all about style rather than whether or not they have a mechanical or quartz movement. Our objective is to always try and produce something more beautiful through the design of the case. We are slowly moving up-market with our models – today we are producing more in gold and diamonds – but our targets are not dependent upon the cost of the timepiece.
“When we began manufacturing in steel and aluminium - the less expensive models - we produced around 350,000 watches a year. But because we are now producing more in precious metal the quantity is lower, around 250,000 to 280,000 … but the revenue is higher.”

Having fun with friends
Locman watches can be found in over a thousand prestigious points-of-sale, thus enjoying an international distribution although the brand is still not available in some Eastern European countries, China, Africa and India. There are nine Locman mono-brand stores including two on Elba and one in Tokyo and a recently opened store in Florence. However, Marco Mantovani stresses that their distribution plan is to focus on using quality retailers and not to open flagship stores merely as a marketing device to advertise the brand. He estimates that only 5 to 7 per cent of their sales will emanate from mono-brand outlets.
Last year, Locman and Samsonite, the luggage and leather goods company, reached agreement on a new collection of watches that will carry the label ‘Samsonite designed by Locman Italy’. The watches will be available in two sizes with three different colour combinations and will be in stainless steel with a GMT movement with date. Distribution will begin first of all in Italy, then in the USA and the rest of Europe.
“We are crazy people at Locman,” Mantovani confesses with a smile. “We are an independent family business and our philosophy is to work with family and friends – people who love to work with us. When we first began, we suffered a lot, but we learned and we discovered that there is room for our type of watch design. It’s more fashion, more fun, more open, more colourful – it’s a very special niche and we enjoy what we are doing and therefore we enjoy life. And our aim is to continue what we are doing with our friends who are also our suppliers, retailers and customers.
“We want to grow, not in the number of pieces that we produce, but in turnover and we will grow because the market wants us and not because we have to. We’re not quoted on the stock market so we don’t need to force the market for growth. However, we do have the capacity to produce what the market requires.”




LATIN LOVER
Stainless steel two-piece domed case – 60 x 40 mm for the gent’s model and 50 x 32 mm for the ladies’ model – with mobile lugs that swivel for a comfortable fit.
Equipped with an ETA 2824-2 mechanical automatic movement, hours, minutes and central seconds hand with stopping device, date at 4 o’clock, large Arabic numerals, iguana straps in various colours. The gem-set version has 2.34 carats of brilliant-cut diamonds. Water-resistant to 30 metres.



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