Bulletin Board 44

Hunting in the wild Tuscan countryside of Maremma, watch nirvana, and Matt’s favorite travel bag gets an update

THE COLLECTOR

There’s been a jewelry store in this medieval Italian city since the 17th century. But it isn’t just a store. Walk through the ancient wood-paneled showroom, duck under a heavy curtain, and you are admitted into the inner sanctum of current owner Giuseppe, the 13^th generation of this family of jewelers.

However, that’s not why this dapper gentleman in his 60s is such a local celebrity. Instead, he’s renowned for his love of watch collecting: a passion that started nearly 50 years ago and has never stopped. His incredible office, tucked away in the back of the ornate shop, is lined from wall to wall with watches, books about watches, watch displays, and watch accessories. This might just be watch heaven.

Every brand you have ever heard of is represented—Rolex, Tudor, Patek, Breitling, Omega, Vacheron, Longines, Heuer—along with plenty more that you haven’t. Giuseppe loves finding oddities: such as the Giroxa Everlight, which was the first watch with an illuminated dial lit up by a small bulb. And he makes a habit of seeking out the unobtainable, like his latest purchase: a rare rectangular Rolex driving watch from 1936 that sits on the side of the wrist. A bit like the Marvin “Motorist” watch from a slightly later era, which Giuseppe also owns.

He's not even sure himself how many watches make up his collection, but it’s safe to say that we’re talking high hundreds. Maybe more. If it were thousands, I wouldn’t be surprised.

All sorts of famous collectors have called the shop – from globally-renowned soccer players such as Karl-Heinz Rummenigge to A-list actors like Harrison Ford – but very rarely does anything get sold.

 “Quite a long time ago, I sold a beautiful watch from the 1940s to a lady who brought it back to me several years later in terrible condition,” remembers Giuseppe. “That was such a painful experience that I swore I would never do it again.” Which is an interesting approach for somebody who is meant to sell jewelry for a living. But there’s a clearly defined line between his business and personal life.

His first personal watch was a Universal Geneve chronograph, bought in his 20s, while his favorite is currently a one-off brown and cream Rolex GMT Master: the pride of an extensive array of Rolex GMTs.

 “The ‘one of one’ Rolex is my favorite,” he says, plucking it out of its plush red box and putting it on. “Just because it’s so unique, and I felt a special connection with it straight away. It’s the watch I would grab if the office suddenly set itself on fire—but trust me, my tears would put out the fire!”

 Giuseppe’s enthusiasm is evangelical: he pulls roll after roll of watches onto his desk, relating the history of each one. He’s a man who lives and breathes his passion three-dimensionally, surrounded by cabinets that display carefully curated dioramas of watches in the wild. You’ll see a model Lamborghini next to a collection of Heuer in-car stopwatches, while a toy Alfa Romeo that looks like it just completed the Mille Miglia – a legendary 1000-mile race across Italy – is artfully displayed next to (of course) a Chopard Mille Miglia watch. There’s even a GMT area with model airplanes, old ticket stubs, and vintage frequent flyer cards: many of which were accumulated by his father, Pietro. Ask Giuseppe what collecting means to him and he’ll simply answer: “It means living life”.—Anthony Peacock

(Exact name and city withheld for privacy reasons.)

WORK IN PROGRESS

More than a year ago, I partnered with the 4^th-generation German maker Seil Marschall to produce my ideal travel bag. Made from heavyweight canvas with brass hardware and the features I can’t do without—a square bottom that sits flat and a back strap that docks onto roller luggage—it also had incredible volume. I'm always impressed by how much stuff I can actually fit into it over the course of a trip, at how well organized it is thanks to the outer and interior pockets, and how easy it is to fit under a seat or in an overhead bin.

 In short, it was already perfect in its original olive iteration. But at Pitti, I encountered a follower who also loved the bag, and suggested that it would look good in navy, too. To which I agreed! There’s just something a little beachier about navy that makes it feel more suited to the spring and summertime, plus navy is probably the most frequent color in my wardrobe, followed by khaki and olive.

 Fast forward to now, and the good folks at Seil Marschall have come through with a new edition of the Wm Brown Travel Bag in navy. They’re made to order, so if you place one now, you can expect to see it in around 4 weeks. As for myself, I’m looking forward to wearing my navy bag just as hard as I have the olive. —MH         

THE HUNT

Corso Baccheschi Berti has a close connection to the land. Born in Milan but raised in Tuscany, Corso recalls foraging for wild mushrooms and herbs at just six years old. By the time he was 10, Corso was joining his father’s hunting trips as an observer.

 As an adult, Corso’s since hunted everywhere from Africa to the Alps, often with a local guide who could butcher the quarry and cook it in the native style. Feeling that this fully immersive approach was lacking back home, Corso utilized his background in high-end hospitality—he’s a graduate of Switzerland’s elite EHL Hospitality Business School, and for years has helped run his family’s castle-turned-boutique-hotel, Castello di Vicarello—to found a business of his own, Capitolo Toscano.

 Working his impressive local connections, Corso’s managed to gain access to 28,000 acres of privately held land in Tuscany’s bucolic Maremma region, where wildlife including boar, roe deer and fallow deer roam. Over the course of one-day, two-day or three-day expeditions, he will guide hunters as they stalk these animals or wait for them in high seats. Once the prey’s been bagged, Corso will lead in butchering the animals and later cooking them, which might happen at the hunter’s lodgings (Corso helps place participants in local B&Bs or even castles) or at his own home, a converted early 20th century farmhouse with no shortage of taxidermy or fireplaces.  

 Shortly after Capitolo Toscano’s launch in September, Matt joined Corso for a few days in the field. Both managed to fell fallow bucks, which were butchered at Corso’s place and turned into venison tartare as well as steaks cooked over an open fire. Even the livers saw use in a traditional Venetian preparation with onions and sage (While Matt didn’t have the time to partake on this trip, Corso will often make a fresh pasta and use the meat to whip up a ragu).

“I grew up with the idea that you hunt only what you eat, and that you must honor the animal you pursue and take responsibility for the hunt,” Corso says of his circular approach. —Eric Twardzik