Time, speed, elegance and a love of mechanics are the dimensions inhabited by CT Scuderia.
The best way to understand the fast-moving spirit of CT Scuderia watches is through a closer acquaintance with their creator, Enrico Margaritelli. Influenced by the motorbike lifestyle since he was a boy, the founder of CT Scuderia is the third generation to carry on his family’s watchmaking tradition. He created his first brand when he was just 21, before going on to launch the Fossil brand worldwide. Then, in 2013, Margaritelli invested his deep-seated passion for watchmaking and fascination with café racers in ContaTempo Scuderia.
The ContaTempo Scuderia aesthetic combines determination and sportiness with classic styling and the superior quality of Italian design. Like a true competition motorbike, nothing is left to chance. And everything is subservient to time.
We sat down with Enrico Margaritelli to find out more about the brand, the design process and what makes his watches so unique.
What inspired the start of CT Scuderia?
Until 2012 I had been designing watches for many brands, always following their own requests. I wanted to create a watch that was able to represent my own world. It started from a neck chrono of my grandfather: he was a watch master and that chrono design was special to me. I then researched how to modify the body with leather strap and – step by step – working on the ergonomics, I was able to reach the 3 pieces construction of the CORSA collection.
How do your watches reflect your personality as a designer?
My watches totally reflect my personality and – most of all – my passion for motorcycle and competitions. Today I am not anymore into racing, but I can fully enjoy the Café Racer lifestyle and CT Scuderia is the perfect extension of that gentleman style world.
Time, speed, elegance, and the love of mechanics are key aspects of CT Scuderia. How do your watches interpret those aspects?
As any cafe racer motorcycle, the components and materials are key: solid parts assembled with nice-looking screws, the fact that the product can be customized, the leather material, the handmade stitching, the wax treatment, the leather perforations, the metal finish and last the dials that are always reporting important connection with speedometers or chrono instruments.
Looking at the shapes, lines and materials of your watches, they look unusual. What makes the construction of your products so unique?
They born unique; many has tried to imitate us by putting the crown at 12th o’clock, but that is not the main point of our constructions. For example, the horns at 12th o’clock are totally different than the ones at 6’o’clock. The horns that are attached on the part of the crown and pushers are handmade and they need to accommodate crown and pushers.
In some models Start & Stop pushers are different lengths in order to make it easier to be used with motorcycle gloves. Most brands do not take care of the case back, they are just plain and metal color; our Italian flag reported on the case back is an iconic way to show that these watches are not only made to be shown from the front side, but they look beautiful all over – in all details.
Our best market is Japan where customers love every single detail, they know how to appreciate Swiss Made quality and Italian beauty.
