This story originally appeared on the Gents Cafe Newsletter. You can subscribe here.
Meet Giuseppe Martire (@gmar_t1re), originally from Puglia and now based in Milan. Founder & Chief Advisor of 29.8 Consulting, Giuseppe has a background in tailoring and works across luxury, fine watches, and collectible assets, bringing together strategic vision, discretion, and a deep appreciation for timeless value.
What are your main passions and how do you cultivate them?
I am passionate about vintage watches and archival clothing. Both are closely tied to the art of living. I also love to travel and discover new cultures, which allows me to constantly uncover new objects. I’m a collector of smoking accessories and anything related to craftsmanship, which is, in a way, the common thread of my life. It connects watchmaking – with its focus on mechanics and construction precision – to tailoring and clothing, which represent the highest expression of craftsmanship, in Italy and abroad.
I cultivate these passions through study, as I truly enjoy deepening my knowledge of the subjects I work with – be it watches, clothing, or something else – and through exchange and dialogue with industry experts, collectors, and other prominent figures in these fields.
How did you first develop an appreciation for style?
I absorbed a sense of style within my family: I grew up watching my grandfathers, one of them having his clothes made by a tailor, his wardrobe filled with shirts, and the other one always wearing jeans, and this shaped my taste in clothing. Furthermore, they both wore watches, though they weren’t collectors; they were simply men of their time, who used watches as tools and carried themselves with a certain elegance – both in their manners and in how they related to others.
So my passions are deeply rooted in my personal history, especially in my childhood. In particular, my passion for watches has also become a form of personal expression; like many, I enjoy celebrating or marking important milestones in life with an object – and in my case, that object is often a watch.
What does “being well-dressed” mean to you?
The elegance and manners of my father, who always dressed with a sober yet refined touch, helped me understand from a young age what “dressing well” means. Over time, this has become not only a profession for me, but also a vision: dressing well extends to living well, spending time in certain places, meeting certain people.
Working in tailoring, spending time in workshops, and living for a while in London and then Milan, both capitals of fashion and tailoring, taught me that true style comes from culture, consistency, and a certain sense of modesty. It’s about not shouting through what you wear – whether in colors, combinations, materials, grooming, or any other element that ultimately reflects who we are.
How do you define success, and what motivates you to achieve it?
To me, success essentially means leaving an authentic mark by building aesthetic and human value, and feeling in harmony with what you do. Knowing you’ve done it well, with passion and consistency. What motivates me is the possibility of turning a vision into something real, elegant, and above all, lasting – something that can be passed on.
This could be a watch or a beautifully tailored suit – something that doesn’t lose its value over time, but rather gains it. It’s a journey where you never stop learning, studying, working, and creating. I definitely feel like I’m on that path, and part of that process: I don’t feel I’ve reached my goal yet, but I see a strong outlook ahead, one that hopefully will allow me to leave behind the value and the authentic legacy I dream of.
What’s the first watch (or meaningful accessory) you ever owned, and what does it mean to you?
The first watch I ever owned was a vintage gold Omega that belonged to my grandmother. I wear it with respect and affection – it may sound cliché, but more than just an accessory it’s an emotional bond. It’s a fragment of her elegance and carries a valuable lesson with it: my grandmother was allergic to most metals, so she wore a gold watch not because of its value, but out of practicality. She was an extremely pragmatic, grounded woman, and that watch is like a talisman that keeps me grounded. It reminds me to stay practical and brings back memories of her natural problem-solving ability.
The first watch I actually purchased with my own savings was instead a Rolex Datejust 1601. I bought it just two months after I started working at Brioni: I saved my first few paychecks to mark that milestone with a meaningful object. I still own that watch today, and it’s one of the few I will never sell. It was a deliberate choice, an initiatory moment that marked the beginning of my journey as a conscious collector.
I chose that specific reference because, to me, it represents the pinnacle of elegance. It’s the mental image most people have when they think of a Rolex dress watch: the Jubilee bracelet, the fluted white gold bezel, leaf-shaped hands… It was a way to mark a personal achievement: owning a watch that was significant to me at the time, within my means, and that made me feel good while motivating me to aim higher, to work hard, reach new goals, and eventually acquire even more refined pieces. That was the beginning of a path I continue to follow.
Besides watches, do you collect anything else? If so, how did that passion start?
I collect slow-smoking items – pipes and accessories for pipes and cigars. I’ve never smoked cigarettes, for example, because I believe the act of smoking should be a ritual, something you dedicate time to, where you intentionally carve out a part of your day for specific actions that bring you a sense of reward.
I began with Tuscan cigars, then gradually moved toward more refined ones, and I explored cigars from Nicaragua, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and so on. From there, I started collecting lighters, humidors – everything connected by the common thread of craftsmanship and handmade excellence, beginning with the cigars themselves, crafted by torcedores.
I feel completely immersed in this world: clothing, watches, cigars, wine, they’re all part of a continuum, a seamless thread. Getting dressed, going out, eating, drinking, smoking a cigar – it’s all part of an intentional lifestyle. A way of being, of living, and at times, to reclaim your time and your identity, especially in fast-paced cities like Milan, or before that, London.
It becomes a kind of ora et labora: beyond work, there’s also the part that resembles prayer or meditation. For me, that’s smoking a cigar, sitting down, relaxing. If I’m in my home region Puglia, perhaps by the sea, watching the horizon; if I’m in Milan, even just on my balcony.
If you could mentor someone in your field, what’s the first lesson you’d teach?
Certainly, the greatest lesson is that true luxury is not about appearances, but about knowing how to choose, studying deeply and reaching a profound awareness of what you buy, what you do, what you smoke, what you drink. Real luxury lies in the ability to choose, and to do so consciously.
I would teach the value of listening, of consistency, and the culture of detail, because in the end, the difference is always in the details. It’s in the silence, not in the noise, that you can truly recognize those who have genuine style and deep knowledge of what they own and what they do.
Another important lesson I’ve learned – and that I would pass on as a mentor – is that you never truly know who is in front of you. I learned this during my time at Brioni, where I would constantly cross paths with all kinds of people, including powerful individuals who, at first glance, don’t give off that impression. You can’t perceive it from how they’re dressed or how they move. And once again, that speaks to the idea of not showing off, but instead making conscious, considered choices.
What does your ideal Sunday look like?
My ideal Sunday takes me back to my childhood. It’s a day I dedicate to my passions, although, to be honest, I try to carve out time every day for the things I enjoy. But Sunday always brings to mind the idea of home: Sundays with my family in Puglia, my grandparents’ sunlit terrace, the scent of my grandmother’s ragù filling every room, a glass of white wine with a slice of peach inside. Time would slow down, filled with conversations, familiar voices, reflections with loved ones… a true sense of fulfilment and family that no form of luxury can match.
That’s where I rediscover my balance, my roots, and even the inspiration for new projects and my vision of life. In Milan, unfortunately, it’s more complicated, and I have to admit that Sundays have somewhat lost the sacred value they once had. I often try to escape over the weekend – sometimes I go to Abruzzo, at my partner’s family, where I focus on manual work, tending to the land, riding horseback, making homemade cured meats. All those simple, hands-on tasks that bring you closer to a simpler lifestyle, to the earth, and to your origins. It’s the complete opposite of the fast-paced, aperitivo-driven Milanese life. It’s a kind of healthy detox that allows me to regain my balance.
And when I do stay in Milan, I stay home and make my grandmother’s ragù myself, trying my best to recreate it.
What are your three favorite movies?
Blow, Scarface, and The Great Beauty.
Blow resonates with me for its intense and vivid portrayal of rise and fall, the longing for redemption, and ultimately, the inevitable solitude. The film ends with a powerful image of loneliness; after the appearance, the luxury, the fame and success, there’s the other side: family, distance, and a sense of isolation. That dichotomy leaves a lasting impression.
Then there’s Scarface, which rightfully stands as a cult classic and, in my view, is the ultimate symbol of relentless determination in the pursuit of social ascent. Tony’s journey in the film, along with the price of power, perfectly encapsulates the other side of success: the fall of the myth.
Lastly, The Great Beauty, for its poetry, its graceful melancholy. The disillusion and the fleeting beauty of things – starting with the city of Rome, where I often spent time because my partner used to live there. It’s a city I know well, and it brings me back to that idea of what is seen versus what truly is, something deeply connected to the world of clothing and style.
What are your three favorite brands?
First, an Italian brand that has been like a home to me – what I lovely call my adoptive mother – and launched me into this world: Brioni. It represents the quintessence of Italian tailoring and has been a cornerstone of my sartorial education.
Secondly, definitely Rolex, not only for its timeless elegance and heritage, but because it has always felt like a symbol of achievement — the kind of watch worn by someone who has worked hard, built something meaningful, and truly made it.
Third, undoubtedly the most famous and valuable Italian brand worldwide: Ferrari. As children, when we drew a red car, we thought of Ferrari. Its prancing horse made us dream and continues to do so because it embodies Italian excellence – desire, handmade engineering, and myth all combining into a universally recognized symbol.
