FOGLIZZO 1921

20 September 2017

Francis Chichester: hand made, decorative design for lux deco time keepers
Francis Chichester hand made marine chronometers tell brand history.
Francis Chichester hand made marine chronometers tell brand history.
Francis Chichester hand made marine chronometers tell brand history.
Foglizzo – hand tooled leather for luxury cars, yachts, planes and homes.
Foglizzo: heritage and experience in hand tooled leather for antique cars.
Foglizzo – hand tooled leather for luxury cars, yachts, planes and homes.
Leather faced lux deco time keeper for watch charity - note leather texture.
Leather faced lux deco time keeper for watch charity - note leather texture
Francis Chichester: hand made, decorative design for lux deco time keepers.
Foglizzo – hand tooled leather for luxury cars, yachts, planes and homes.
Britannica: hand made types of leather for lux deco time keepers

Founded 1921 in Turin, Foglizzo is an Italian brand, world-leading in the design and development of highest quality hand tooled customised leathers. Building on three generations’ heritage and experience in crafting leather for the restoration of antique cars, it today supplies – with unparalleled artisanal skill, innovative technical expertise and special insight into its clientele’s needs – exclusive high quality leather to the yachting, aviation, motor and residential interior design industries.

One reliable benchmark of a brand is its partners: Foglizzo boasts partnerships with the most exclusive designers of super yachts, architecture and interiors, such as; Winch Design the super yacht designer behind Dilbar yacht and Dubai yacht; Alberto Pinto, superyacht designer behind Ocean Victory yacht and Katara yacht and also Interior designer of royal palaces and royal residences; other global luxury names such as Swaroski Crystal, and of course, Thomas Mercer.

We joined forces on the Greenwich: inspired by the time keepers (housed today at the Royal Observatory) which once helped navigate, explore and map the world, the Greenwich boasts cabinet in Macassar ebony and satinwood, silvered dial, chain fusee drive and spring detent escapement, crowned with a truly beautiful map by Foglizzo: depicting the Atlantic Challenge, the legendary ocean crossing made by Sir Francis Chichester in 1971, in which he broke the solo sailing speed barrier of 200 nautical miles a day, navigating his Gipsy Moth V using Thomas Mercer marine chronometer no. 23543.

We joined forces also at Only Watch Charity Auction 2015:  under the high patronage of HSH Prince Albert of Monaco, it funds research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Its main event is the bi-annual Only Watch auction, featuring donations from the world’s most prestigious watch and clockmakers.  Thomas Mercer donated a completely one-off leather faced unit of the table chronometer ‘Brittanica’. Its custom-made celestial map dial represents the Geneva starry sky as it appeared on the night of the auction. The hand-painted blue background, the bas-relief constellation map and Roman numerals of polished steel, its sharp angles and straight lines, are all topped off by the exquisitely hand-tooled fine white leather signed by Foglizzo combining incomparably with the blue of the dial.

Such masterworks as these prove how the know-how of this special partner enhances the seafaring universe of Thomas Mercer, a company proud to be a crucial part of the United Kingdom’s marine heritage.  A benchmark of a brand is indeed its partners.

“At Foglizzo Leather we are always willing to collaborate, inspire and be inspired by the creative world around us. Showcasing our shared values of innovation, expertise and craftsmanship, Foglizzo’s map furthermore emphasises not only the spirit of adventure, but also the determination of longitude at sea first made possible by the marine chronometer. Every project has its own challenges, we share together with Thomas Mercer the desire to honour a glorious past reinventing the future.”

Paolo Foglizzo