We started this feature because we wanted to highlight the stories of collectors or retailers in cities all over the world. So, in that spirit, we spoke to Chiara Pisa of Pisa Orologeria – one of the most well-known retailers in Milan, that have contributed greatly to the development of horology in the city, and are celebrating their 80th anniversary this year!
Chiara Pisa
Andres Ibarguen: Your store is historic in Milan. When was it founded?
Chiara Pisa: Pisa was born as an atelier 80 years ago, in 1940. It was very different from what we are today, much smaller; two simple windows on Via Verri 9, watch sales had yet to begin. The two to open the store were my grandfather, Ugo, and his brother, Osvaldo. While Ugo attended to clients at the front, Osvaldo was in the back, in the workshop, surrounded by tools; which he handled with skill and experience. It was a very familiar environment, but full of the dreams and aspirations that have brought it to become a reference point in the world of watches.
AI: Was the store always in the same location? How have you seen the neighbourhood change over the years?
CP: Via Verri was and still is the pulsing heart of Pisa Orologeria; number 9, my grandfather’s original atelier, became our flagship store. Over the years we have had other openings, renovations, expansions, and inaugurations of monobrand boutiques that cover the entire first half of via Verri – sometimes referred to in Milan as the ‘Boulevard of Time’ – and via Montenapoleone, the center of the Milanese high-end, where today at number 24 we have the Rolex boutique. Now, where the original atelier once was, became the flagship store, then there’s the Vacheron Constantin boutique right beside the Patek Philippe one, and the new flagship store, opened a few years ago.
AI: Were you also interested in watches or how was this passion born?
CP: When I was born the business was already very active and going through a period of consolidation, with my aunt and my mother at the steering wheel. Since I was very young, I’ve lived with the tick of the movements, the instruments that the watchmakers used, with sales strategies and everything that has to do with the world of watches. So, the environment that was already extremely familiar and full of memories quickly enamoured me and convinced me that this was the path to follow.
AI: Have you always had the idea of working in the watch sector or did you try working in anything else before?
CP: My interest in watches and the watch world started when I was very young, and was not lacking, even during my adolesence. Interest in other professions, like for example medicine, was mainly influenced by trends of the moment or Hollywood movies. Despite these brief interruptions, I understood from very early on that my real passion was for timepieces, and since 2003, when I graduated university, I’ve dedicated a large part of my energy to the family business.
AI: Of all the watches you’ve had in the store, which one was your favourite?
CP: It’s very difficult to respond to this question having always been surrounded by so many timepieces that I’ve learned to love and appreciate. I don’t really have a favourite timepiece, but there are brands that I like to keep as memories for different reasons. For example, Roger Dubuis was the first manufacture I visited, with Patek Philippe we’ve organized marvelous visits to the museum in Geneva, and with Rolex we have collaborated on some extraordinary projects.
AI: Do you have any prefernces as far as type or brand of watches goes?
CP: Preferences don’t exist for me, if anything there are brands that are particularly interesting for different reasons: technical, aesthetic, innovative, historical etc. Let’s say that I appreciate very much the brands that are open to the next generation, without forgoing tradition, or rather those that have found the correct compromise between the past and future; creating something new based on tradition. Personally, I think it is important never to focus too much on a specific target but rather be able to balance requests from the general public.
AI: Who is, in your view, the most interesting person you’ve had as a client?
CP: Another difficult question given all the interesting persons who have passed through our store over the years. Surely, among those who left their mark, even if I never got to meet her personally, was Maria Callas. Our store was a point of reference for her purchases, so much so that she had gotten in the habit of calling my grandfather “caro Ugo”. My mother and aunt often told me of the elegant entrances with the stylish dresses that she wore when she came to our store. She seemed like a fairy, capable, solely with her presence, of changing the atmosphere of any environment she was in. It was thanks to her particular tastes that my grandfather and his sons were able to insist to watch brands that they should also focus on fulfilling the demands of their female clients, on top of their male clients.
The flagship store
AI: What plans do you have for the future of the business? Do you think of taking advantage of online sales channels, online marketing, and new technology in general?
CP: The current heath situation of the last few months has again made it clear how important covering digital is, something that Pisa Orologeria introduced some time ago, and improved many aspects of this year – specifically because of COVID. The distancing and security measures have forced even the least technologically adept to start using technology, and so far the response we’ve had has been positive. In my experience, and moreover, speaking with my clients, I’m convinced that the experience of the boutique was and remains the prefered one. Simply because there is a series of sensations and emotions that are not part of the digital process. Like I always say, it’s a great support system but not the ultimatum.
AI: As a business, have you already perceived any effects, positive or negative, from the emergence of the grey market and online businesses?
CP: When you decide on a career path like mine it is inevitable that you will find yourself in these kinds of situations. Working with high quality pieces, with certain price tags and limited production, it’s easy to run into people who are after exclusive pieces at specific prices or through unofficial channels that can make finding the watch easier. It’s part of the game. For us, what matters is the respect for the brands and maximum transparency in terms of our operations. In terms of online, like I said, it’s a channel that has proved to be extremely useful as of late and that will last into the future due to its convenience. Even if I strongly believe that clients desire the human contact that only face to face interactions can offer.
AI: How do you see the future of the sector? Recently we’ve seen a decrease in sales in emerging markets like China and Hong Kong; in your view what does this imply for the sector? Is it shrinking?
CP: The market is always a great unknown, and predictions, however grounded in accurate analysis, are never completely true. The unexpected, as we’ve seen, is always around the corner. As far as the sector, there is surely difficulties in terms of our experience but what reassures me is the keen interest in watches. My hope is that the sector understands the lesson that this experience has left us: give time to time. Horology is art, and like art, cannot adapt itself to ‘fast’ levels of production that, now, are the reality for most sectors. It would be a blow to horology, an insult, and a lack of respect. What we’re doing is getting clients to understand that the wait is part of the marvelous world that is high horology.
AI: Italy has always been a very important country for the watch industry, but how have you seen it change as a market in your time working in the sector?
CP: What makes me extremely proud of Italian clients is the insistence of buying timepieces of high quality with little regard for fashion trends, rather for the passion and intrigue for high horology. It’s much less concentrated on the reverence of a brand, as much as the quality of the watch, the mechnaics that make it work, and the story of the brand. It’s a passion that, much to my relief, also includes young people. And we try to bring them closer to the history of watches and try to get them to see all the art that is inside a timepiece. Not only smart watches for the next generation, then!
Thank you, Chiara!