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| Carlos Ferrara Watch |
The horological world has begun to stand up and take note of Italian watchmaking. Next to literal giants Panerai and Anonimo, there is also Bvlgari, a jewelry great turned watchmaker, and Grimaldi, a company that has created a truly unusual watch. When listed among these more established names in Italian watchmaking, it is hard to believe that Carlo Ferrara has already been manufacturing watches since 1995. But he has, although the name has not been very widespread until now because Ferrara started out modifying only small quantities of the ETA movements he needed to complete his vision. The result being that his regolatori were only available in very small editions at a time, reserved for the connoisseur with a taste for the unusual.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. If this saying were always true, then the horological world would be deprived of a great and truly unusual watch, and Carlo Ferrara would probably be more involved in the jewelry business than in the watch business. Ferrara's only model to date, albeit in several different variations, is a modified regulator. Regulators first appeared on the scene in the late 17th century and were used as precision clocks by watchmakers to verify watches' rates. In those days, they were regarded as the most accurate of timepieces since neither quartz nor atomic clocks had yet been invented. As the hours and minutes were already correct, the catch was the co-axial arrangement of the hands to enable a precise glance at the seconds, which were supremely
legible when arranged in this fashion. Visually speaking, someone not familiar with watchmaking practices might actually think that there is a hand missing on a regulator dial.
At the beginning of the 1980s, when the mechanical watch was experiencing its renaissance, the German company Chronoswiss invented an automatic regulator for the wrist. This was novel, and combined with many other attributes, led to great success for the Munichbased company. Today, many companies have regulators in their repertoires, but - aside from blu-source du temps's coolly contemporary take on the regulateur theme - there has hardly been one since as innovative and uniquely styled as that of Carlo Ferrara. And certainly no others that "dance" in the individualistic way that Ferrara's do.
Carlo Ferrara is an Italian watchmaker following in a family tradition. His father was also a watchmaker, though he never attended watchmaking school. Neither did Carlo. Both men autodidactically honed their talents, learning the basics from their fathers. Carlo worked as a watchmaker in a little atelier for thirty years, but he was always sure that he could create something very different, something that expressed more of his Mediterranean soul. Day in, day out, he saw different watches coming into the workshop that were all basically the same. They
had different cases, different dials, and different shapes, but they all shared one trait: The hands were placed in the center of the dial, eternally sweeping the outer ring, just like every other watch. He felt the need to create something else, something unique, something that "cannot be considered boring," as he puts it.
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In 1991 he finally made a prototype of his novel watch idea, using it to learn how to perfect all the details of the regulator. With the help of
Swiss designers, the prototype was miniaturized and the "only wristwatch regulator equipped with dancing hours" was born.
The watch owes its nickname to the movement of the hands as the day progresses. The hour hand on the right side of the dial and the minute hand on the left side of the dial appear to do a slow dance as they mark the passage of time, moving up and down in their tracks and rotating 180 degrees at each end of the track. This movement of the skeletonized hands is the central theme of the watch.
In 2003 Carlo Ferrara introduced a new model to complete the collection, one in which the new design of the skeletonized hands is no longer quite as transparent. The most remarkable innovation added to Ferrara's original timepiece is the square case. Strikingly angular, the edges of the steel or precious metal used have been filed straight to create a strict edge. Another characteristic that differs from the round cases exclusively used previously is the addition of Carlo Ferrari's engraved name at the bottom of the case, between the top of the lugs. To match the angularity of the case, the crown has also been given a new shape, one that makes it easier to grip. The dials upon which the hours dance are just as varied as those of the round model: A total of nine different dials can be had by the discerning connoisseur, dials that play with different types of numbers ranging from classic roman to two different arabic fonts. The dial designers have played with the various numeral designs, creating a number of combinations on blue, bronze, brown, black, or white backgrounds. The movement used in both of these unusual watch variations is a patented, modified ETA 2892-A2, and exhibits the following quality
characteristics: Etachron fine adjustment, a glucydur balance wheel, a Nivarox 1 balance spring, and Incabloc shock protection. All of the models are water-resistant to at least 3 atmospheres and are outfitted with sapphire crystals. The cases are manufactured in high-quality stainless steel or 18-karat yellow, rose, or white gold. As it is plain to see, there is no lack of quality on any of these timepieces.
Production of Carlo Ferrara watches is quite limited as every piece is finished in Switzerland by hand. At the moment, only a total of 1,500 pieces are being produced per year, but the small family-owned company would like to raise this number to 2,500 per year in the near future. Sergio Ferrara, Carlo's son and a law graduate,
is the man in charge of the non-technical side of the business. He stresses that production is so difficult because of the high amount of work done by hand on these watches. The Ferrara watches are now distributed in many countries, including the United States, Italy, Japan, Hong Kong, and the Saudi Emirates, with contacts made to begin distribution in various other countries. Asked if he thought that would be too much too soon, Sergio answers with a smile, "We have to improve production. In two to three years, we hope to be producing 5,000 pieces." Plans for the future also include employing more watchmakers, both in Rome and Switzerland.
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Carlos Ferrara
Ferret S.r.l.
Via Fulvio Palmierei, 6
00151 Rome, Italy
Tel.: 011-39-06-657-950-97
Fax.: 011-39-06-653-78-73
www.carloferrara.it
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