Remembering Severin Wunderman

The "foundation" story of Gucci Watches is one of legend.  I had the very great pleasure of spending a few days with two self-proclaimed "Children of Severin" back in November.  By that, they meant that they cut their teeth, made their bones with Gucci Watches back in the day.  Needless to say, there is a bigger story there.  But we'll save that for another time.  

Borrowed Shamelessly from the INFOWEB

The original meeting of Severin Wunderman and Aldo Gucci is one shared around the campfire quite a bit by industry folks.  Attempting to arrange a license agreement for his employer to manufacture Gucci watches as a private label endeavor, he dropped in on the hotel where he heard that the Guccis were staying, and using the house phone called up to their suite.  Now some of the following details are fuzzy, but legend holds that Aldo was expecting a call from a young woman when he answered the phone with something resembling "who the hell are you?"  Mr. Wunderman, not one to "wear the prom dress" replied in kind and was invited to come up to the suite and "talk about it".  And with both men ready to slug each other as he knocked, Mr. Gucci opened the door, they both paused and broke down in laughter.

With the ice broken, they got down to business and it was agreed that the company Mr. Wunderman worked for could have the license to make the watches.  One small problem, they could not handle such a large order.  So seeing opportunity, Mr. Wunderman proposed leaving his company, handle the manufacture of the watches himself, and the rest would take care of itself.  Well, actually two small problems - Mr. Wunderman didn't have the money to do this.  And in a moment that all of the rest of us in the sales side of the watch business wish and hope could happen for us, Aldo Gucci pre-paid an order of approximately a quarter million dollars.

Gucci Watches today is, obviously, a different company.  And that is to be expected.  But what drove Gucci, and later Corum was not just a fancy name.  It was not just a flashy booth.  It was people, imagination, a willingness to think beyond the obvious.

So we watch, and we wait, and we hope that the next Severin Wunderman will reveal himself.

Severin Wunderman and The House of Gucci

So a few months back I read Sara Gay Forden's The House of Gucci - which I highly recommend by the way.  For a watch fan, one of the best passages involved Severin Wunderman's somewhat inauspicious first meeting with Aldo Gucci.

Essentially, Mr. Wunderman was at that time working as a sales rep for a small watch concern.  He wanted to meet with the Gucci people, and went to the hotel they were staying at in New York.  And somehow managed to get Aldo Gucci's number (many insist accidentally or by chance by incorrectly dialing the hotel's house phone).  The story goes that Aldo Gucci was waiting for a call from a from someone who was going to set him up/ introduce him to a girl.  One thing led to another, and what had started as confusion quickly escalated to a confrontation with Aldo Gucci cursing Wunderman over the phone.  Mr. Wunderman not being one to hide is light under a bushel returned the "pleasantry" in kind.  Aldo Gucci said something the the effect of - why don't you say that to my face?  

Wonderman went straight to Gucci's room, Aldo Gucci opened the door, and according to all accounts just as they were winding up to slug each other, they looked at each other and started laughing.  And from that meeting, the Gucci watch was born, and a long and enduring friendship.

So the next time you're ready to "throw down", remember this  - you might be throwing away a golden opportunity.


Enjoy your watches.