Allemano – A Marriage of Style and Precision
02 Dec 2021
At the NAJ Summit Suppliers' Showcase this September, one exhibitor in particular attracted plenty of attention, for the product, yes, but also for the fascinating back story. To learn more we spoke to UK distributor Mike Cantelo of Chrono Emotions.
This is a story that marries the automotive world with that of luxury watches. It’s about a love of precision, mechanical excellence and aesthetics. It concerns an Italian family business with impeccable heritage, and, more recently, two men who could see the UK market was ready to be inspired by their vision of a watch brand with a unique difference.
The Misaratori del Tempo collection by Allemano was born in 2019, a move that celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the Turin-based company installing the pressure gauge in the Fiat 501 Torpedo.
From the 1950s onwards, Allemano’s measuring instruments have been on board everything that moves! Finally, after so many years in the mechanical industry – with just field technicians knowing their name – Allemano felt the time was right to make their product more visible.
Today, their instruments have moved from the dashboard to the wrist and the inspiration for the watch collection comes, naturally, from the Fiat 501 Torpedo pressure gauge.
Mike Cantelo describes how (and why) he and his business partner, Tim Rapley, entered this picture,
“Tim and I are both ex-high-end niche automotive engineers. Tim spent many years with McLaren in F1 – with time in Japan and Australia, and then joined the Special Vehicle Operations division before setting up his own business in 2005, carrying out precision contactless 3D measurement.
“We met when Tim came to Aston Martin where I was the production launch manager and plant manager for the Aston Martin Vanquish, from 2000 to 2007. We struck up a friendship, which has endured ever since. After he sold his business in 2019, Tim and I have been seeking opportunities to do business together. We chanced upon Allemano, and it immediately attracted us due to our love of all things precision, mechanical and aesthetic.
“I had lived and worked in La Chaux de Fonds in the Jura mountains in Switzerland, long before getting into the automotive world, and also in Germany and France. Allemano was the perfect product and timing for us. It suited our continued passion and connection with the world of high-end exclusive classic motoring. So, we founded Chrono Emotions in May 2021, just 10 weeks after initial discussions with Allemano.”
From left to right: MAN sandblasted, DAY brushedMAN to GMT polished
The current 1919 Collection is an automotive-inspired timepiece available in three models, DAY, GMT and MAN.
The cases are 316L stainless steel in polished, sand-blasted or brushed finish, and the watch has sapphire crystal cases front and back and is 5 ATM water resistant.
The DAY and GMT models use Sellita automatic movements, and the MAN, an ETA manual movement. The Italian leather straps have a matching steel buckle in line with the finish of the case, and an interchangeable butterfly clasp.
Later this year, the team will unveil a Diver’s watch, too. Aesthetics, precision and quality are given equal importance, in keeping with the heritage of Allemano.
As Cantelo explains, with Made in Italy at its core, the company ethos is about quality and design, its commitment to customers “starting with the design and ending with satisfaction.”
The all-important attention to detail carries through to brand packaging and point of sale material: the watch box and packaging and point of sale units are manufactured in a local artisan workshop using timber from the local area.
High-quality imagery is available from Allemano for digital media/websites and a hard-cover brochure, which describes the history as well as the watches themselves, is available.
Completing the picture, the brand also offers a range of clothing and leather weekend bags – we are talking Italian style, after all.
A Brief History of Italian Precision
1856
The origins: Founded by Guiseppe Allemano, the Turin factory manufactured steam-powered road rollers used in road construction.
1919
Guiseppe leaves the company to son Felice, who harnesses his knowledge of and experience in steam and steam-engine control and sees the future lies in the manufacture of pressure gauges and thermometers as measuring instruments. Allemano’s measuring instruments are installed on ships, aeroplanes, submarines and early Italian cars... among the first is the Fiat 501.
1929
Fast growth leads Felice to let his sons take over the organisation, and production intensifies on the manufacture of pressure gauges, thermometers and dynamometers.
1950
Allemano manufactures a full range of measuring instruments for aviation – such as pressure gauges for fuel and oil control, as well as for trains and ships. For automobiles, without the need to monitor pressure on board, Allemano’s pressure gauges are now installed only on racing cars, like the world champion Lancia D50.
1960
Allemano expands its production to encompass industry, its precision instruments being used on presses, industrial machines and in chemical and petrol plants.
1980
Another sector arrives: underwater instruments, such as hyperbaric chambers, depth gauges and decompression gauges, Allemano takes over the SOS brand. The arrival of digital depth gauges – less precise but much cheaper – in the mid ‘80s, means that this achievement is short lived.
2010
Having ridden out the harsh socio-economic environment of the 1990s, the Allemano Laboratory opens. It is equipped for Accredia calibrations and calibration services for equipment that measures such things as length, shape, force, pressure, hardness, torque, angle and level, volume, temperature and electrical quantities.
2019
After so many years in the mechanical industry, Allemano realises the desire to re-establish the visibility of its products outside of it and become directly in contact with people. Allemano timepieces are born.
View Allemano Time
View the Jeweller
Source: The Jeweller