orn in Milan in the 1980s, just as modern watchmaking was beginning to flourish, Chiara Pisa grew up in a family of entrepreneurs behind the already renowned Milanese watch retailer Pisa 1940. Horology was part of her world from an early age.

Yet she could have chosen an entirely different path. As a teenager, she was fascinated by the hit film The Silence of the Lambs. She recalls: “I toyed with the idea of studying criminal psychology, but then I realised that it was the ticking of the clocks in our watch shop that truly mattered to me.”

Early enchantment

Watches have been part of her life for as long as she can remember. Was there a defining moment that sparked her own passion for them?

She pauses for a moment before answering: “What I remember clearly is the sense of wonder that shaped the perspective of a young child observing the world through the lens of imagination. In my eyes, the watchmakers in their white coats became doctors who ‘operated’ on timepieces; my mother and my aunt, who presented watches to customers and revealed the secrets hidden beneath their dials, enchanted me with their elegant way of speaking, almost as though they were fairies. Our old shop, entirely panelled in wood, created a soft, intimate atmosphere that made you forget the chaos of the city outside. It is this fairy-tale vision that comes back to me. It is a beautiful memory.”

She also vividly remembers her very first watch: a steel Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Lady, given to her by her aunt Grazia as a graduation present. As watches so often do, it came to embody a particularly important moment in her life.

“That watch represented the achievement of an important milestone, the recognition of my own abilities, the closing of one chapter of my life and the beginning of another.” That, perhaps, is where the true magic of watches lies.

Perpetuating the values

After graduating in Business Administration, she felt ready to join the family Orologeria. She recalls: “I realise that, from a very young age, I was encouraged to engage with the values associated with the world of work: commitment, dedication, the importance of research and listening and, above all, the great care required when providing a service to people who have placed their trust in us.”

Her journey within the family business began in 2004. CEO since 2018, she has embraced the family legacy while seeking to “bring it into harmony with the present day, finding the right balance between the values of the past and the forward-looking forces shaping the future.”

“Customer care is at the heart of every decision we make, just as my grandfather Ugo, founder of our Orologeria, always taught us: ‘Everything begins with human sensitivity.’”

Wise words from a man whose philosophy continues to resonate through a younger generation — embodied by a woman who is carrying that legacy forward in her own way.

About the GPHG Academy

Founded in 2020, the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) Academy now brings together more than 1,000 members - accomplished men and women united by a shared belief in the future of watchmaking. As experienced and influential figures across the industry’s key sectors, Academy members contribute to the various stages of the GPHG process, from nominating candidates to selecting the winners alongside the Jury.