Re-enter the watchmaking world of Tiffany

In 1853, Charles Lewis Tiffany commissioned a bronzed statue of Atlas to hang above the entrance of his newly opened emporium
at 550 Broadway, New York. In Greek mythology, Atlas is condemned to hold up the sky for eternity; Tiffany & Co’s 9ft-tall Titan shoulders the weight of a fully operational clock. Many passers-by set their own wristwatch by this landmark with its outsize golden Roman numerals.

Today, the sculpture fronts the seven-storey flagship on Fifth Avenue – opened in 1940 – where it serves as a grand reminder of the luxury brand’s oft-forgotten roots in watchmaking. Memorable archive pieces include the Tiffany Timer, America’s first stopwatch, which was introduced in 1868, and the Tiffany chronograph favoured by railroad magnate and philanthropist William Henry Vanderbilt.

To date, seven US presidents have kept time with Tiffany & Co designs. In 2015, the CT60 series was launched, inspired by a yellow gold watch that the company presented to Franklin D. Roosevelt on his birthday 70 years earlier. The name CT60 is an acronym of sorts, combining the initials of the brand’s founder with the number of seconds in the proverbial ‘New York Minute’. The result of two years of development, this 25-piece collection marked Tiffany & Co’s return to watchmaking following its separation from the Swatch Group in 2011.

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"It was about discovering we have a past in watchmaking. Not only for me, but for people who have been here for many years. It was about telling it to the world," says Nicola Andreatta, Vice President and General Manager of Tiffany & Co Swiss watches since 2013. Having previously launched his own watch brand, NOA, it was Andreatta who masterminded Tiffany & Co’s return to Switzerland.

Rarely does anyone end up working
 in a career they dreamt of as a child, especially in a field as niche and exclusive as watchmaking. But Andreatta, 44, is an exception to the rule. From an early age, he would spend many happy hours in
 the workrooms of FCO (Fabbrica Casse Orologi), the family-run manufacturer co-managed by his parents and located close to the Switzerland-Italy border.

"It was a different world, because we were into manufacturing cases and bracelets for pretty much all the brands in the market,” he says. “It was a factory world; oil and all those things. I always loved the idea of manufacturing; making something yourself that you can hold in your hands."

Andreatta completed a degree in finance before eventually taking over the family business. It was at his parents’ manufacture that he had created his first watch, aged just 14. “I don’t exactly remember where it ended up; I don’t have it any more. It was a square watch – not exactly what 
I am wearing today, but also not too far removed,” Andreatta says, pointing to his Tiffany Square Watch.

Released this month as a limited edition to commemorate the company’s 180th anniversary, the Art Deco-style, 27mm, 18k yellow gold watch takes its cue from an archival piece and is powered by an in- house movement. "To me, this is what we are,” says Andreatta. "This is very Tiffany to me: it’s elegant, it’s refined, it’s slim." The design has been a runaway success, and many of the 180 pieces have sold before release. "That’s the thing: it’s a game," he offers. "People love beautiful things."

Since 1845, Tiffany & Co has been presenting beautiful things in its annual Blue Book, a luxurious catalogue celebrating the pinnacle of its crafts. Archival issues of the Blue Book inspired design details of the brand’s most recent collection of women’s day-to-night watches. The intricately folding, curvilinear stainless steel bracelets of its Metro timepieces are a nod to past fine jewellery creations; the watch’s seconds counter at six o’clock takes after a 19th-century Patek Philippe Tiffany dial (it was Tiffany & Co that helped launch the Swiss marque onto the US market).

Lacquered dials are available in a choice of colours, including ice blue, pink and deep burgundy; all are flinqué-finished, a process in which an engraving tool is moved concentrically by hand to achieve wavy lines. "The idea is to combine our heritage as a jeweller with that of a watchmaker," Andreatta says. Powered by either a Ronda quartz movement or a Soprod automatic movement, Tiffany Metro dials sparkle with both baguette and brilliant-cut diamonds. Turn the watch on its side and you’ll discover a certified diamond set within the twisted prongs of the crown: "We follow the entire diamond chain from the moment we mine the diamond to the moment we mount them on the crown."

Striking a balance between decorative flourishes and functionality, the Metro watch collection adheres to Andreatta’s definition of what makes a great American watch. "I think there is an implication within design," he says. "Function comes before the shape. That’s very American. How do you combine beauty with that idea of function? I think that’s Tiffany."