Gagà Laboratorio, When Italian Design Meets Swiss Precision in Luxury Watches

The current watch market is polarized and most often highlighted by the major and mainstream brands on one hand, and let’s say, all the rest on the other hand. Among the latter, on the fringes of the groups and a few independent and historical brands, a swarm of new brands has emerged in recent years to shake up what can be sometimes seen as a lethargic creative landscape. Niche brands, creators, and micro-brands, all have the particularity of claiming innovative creativity in form and – sometimes – in content. Some, for sure, stand out from the crowd because they have been able to forge a strong identity through the product, if not a manufacture created in the 18th century…

Take Gagà Laboratorio for example. Gagà Laboratorio is a new independent brand, the second owned and run by Mr. Ruben Tomella beside Gagà Milano, which has been active for over twenty years. In 2020, Ruben Tomella decided to leverage the expertise of Manufacture Gagà SA, the Swiss company that has been designing and producing high-end watches for Gagà Milano since 2012, to embark on a new venture in the world of luxury watches.

Joined by his friend Mo Coppoletta, a modern aesthete and deep connoisseur of the watchmaking industry (now the Artistic Director of Gagà Laboratorio), Tomella envisioned a new luxury watch brand with a distinctive stylistic line. This new brand aims to capture the essence of “beauty” in its purest form through exceptional Italian design and Swiss precision.

Mo Coppoletta is no stranger to this universe. The famous Italian tattoo artist based in London is the one who created the Bulgari Octo Finissimo special series featuring motifs of Asian tattooing, limited editions created at the time for Laurent Picciotto, a high-flying Parisian retailer. An interesting look when it comes to giving an artistic and creative direction to a brand and its product. As the company claims, “Italian creativity meets Swiss precision to create timeless pieces for watch enthusiasts and collectors”. So Gagà Laboratorio, what does it mean for which ambition in today’s specific context?

Pascal Brandt, MONOCHROME – You launched Gagà Laboratorio in 2020. The main challenge in entering the market today with a new brand?

Mo Coppoletta and Ruben Tomella – The biggest challenge in launching a new brand is that the market is saturated with offers. In my opinion, conducting a market analysis, considering the many variables between supply and demand, is the wrong approach. The best approach is to focus on creating a product full of substance, with storytelling rich in genuine content, and by doing so, work backwards, starting from oneself before entering the highly competitive watchmaking world, which, as mentioned earlier, is filled with all kinds of offerings.

When it comes to launching a new brand and not just a new product, it becomes even more important to give the brand a strong initial personality because that acts like a business card, and it will be difficult to change how the public perceives it later. Therefore, a thorough internal analysis must be done at the beginning, from which the branding, logos, brand values, and consequently the product will emerge.

And how did you approach that challenge considering the number of newcomers (micro-brands, niche brands, etc…) being added to the existing brands?

Mo Coppoletta and Ruben Tomella – The key to entering the market today with a new brand is to focus on what you want to communicate and what you want to offer to the public. Today, clear messages filled with true, well-defined values are needed, and most importantly, a product – in our case, our watch – with a strong perceived value relative to its commercial positioning.

I reiterate what was said earlier: the starting point for launching a new entity in such a competitive market as watchmaking is to begin with internal analysis and the product itself. If this creative process is tainted by a prior market analysis and various external influences, the result will never be a well-executed project. The most important thing is to focus on oneself.

In your opinion, the key to entering the market when you do not have a history, awareness, etc…?

Mo Coppoletta and Ruben Tomella – Not all new brands have a long history behind them, yet many still manage to succeed. Today more than ever, watch enthusiasts are looking for something that can evoke emotions, and this is the mission of Gagà Laboratorio.

How do you imagine your distribution? What are your markets?

Ruben Tomella – There isn’t a specific market, but we are working on developing commercial relationships and communication on a global level. We are working to expand our commercial network globally, but ours will not be a widespread distribution with thousands of retailers. We prioritize finding business partners who can enhance the product’s value and grow with us step by step.

Who is your target: male/female? GenZ?

Mo Coppoletta – I focused primarily on designing a watch that is beautiful to handle, to wear, eye-catching, with a strong personality, and a true conversation piece. Those who wear it will know how to fully appreciate its values. Our watch can be worn equally well by both men and women – the important thing is knowing how to wear it and enjoy it, so there isn’t a specific target gender.

What about production and assembly? Made in Switzerland?

Ruben Tomella – Our watches are Swiss Made. We work with multiple suppliers from various parts of Switzerland, and the assembly is done in Ticino, which has seen growth in terms of know-how in recent years. Mechanically, we have chosen to work with La Joux-Perret, which produces reliable movements with interesting technical features, such as a 68-hour power reserve, allowing us to focus people’s attention on the most important aspect of the watch: the design.

How would you characterize Italian design?

Mo Coppoletta – Italian design, especially that of the post-war period, brought Italy and Italian taste to the world. I have tried, as much as possible, to draw inspiration from the lines, colors, and craftsmanship of that historical period. The shapes and volumes are very important, especially in a watch, because it is worn, and attention must be paid to these aspects. Following this, material choices, colors, finishes, and time readability were addressed. I have also personally overseen and designed all the various accessories, which I believe are very important. Therefore, packaging, literature, imagery, social media campaigns, and everything else have been subject to my intervention to make the Gagà Laboratorio project as stylistically cohesive as possible.

What is your “Unique Selling Point”, would you have to define it?

Mo Coppoletta and Ruben Tomella – I believe that the success of any product ultimately depends on its acclaim and reception. Therefore, only the market will tell us how well we have done. Certainly, we have taken care of every aspect and every small detail, and I sincerely hope that anyone who has the opportunity to wear or try one of our watches will perceive the effort put into designing and producing them.

For more details, please visit gagalaboratorio.com.