A couple of days ago, I looked at chronographs with an alternative system of displaying elapsed time with respect to the usual display of multiple subdials that can run the risk of looking something like a gas meter. Today, it’s the turn of an Italian designer who creates watches specifically to look like a gauge. His “Manometro” has the functional simplicity of the pressure gauge that inspired it, with a dial of elemental clarity in a super-deep case at almost 15 mm. The watch is just over 45 mm in diameter. It has an ETA automatic movement. Below, case in polished stainless steel, black dial, reference MRP02N:
Below, reference MRP01N:
Below, reference MLB01N, with the crown on the left-hand side of the watch:
Even more unusual is another Giuliano Mazzuoli watch, the Contagiri. The inspiration comes from the rev counter of cars, in particular the Alfa Romeos that Giuliano, like many Italians, absolutely loves. This timepiece has a long hour hand with a retrograde action, so that at midday and midnight it flicks back to zero at the bottom after reaching 12. The other, shorter hand with a red tip is the second hand, which rotates conventionally and has no corresponding scale, because its principal function is to show that the watch is going. Below, Contagiri in stainless steel and DLC coating, with silvered dial, reference C01SS:
The watch has no crown: winding and time-setting are performed using the fluted lunette below the bezel. A recessed lever on the side of the watch is used to select the function, which is indicated by a number that appears in the circular window at the bottom of the dial, where for the rest of the time there is the Mazzuoli logo. “1” indicates winding, “2” setting. This watch is large, 44 mm in diameter, 13.3 mm thick, with stainless steel case and caseback, and an ETA movement and rubber strap. Below, Contagiri Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, a watch in rose gold and titanium, reference C8CRGT, in a limited edition series of 500 pieces, with the Alfa Romeo emblem at the bottom instead of the Mazzuoli logo. This piece in fact celebrates the Alfa Romeo 8C car:
Prices for Contagiri start at about €16,400. Find information on retailers at www.giulianomazzuoli.it. Below, Contagiri in stainless steel and DLC coating, with black dial, reference C02SS:
