Bertolucci

Remo Bertolucci grew up near Pisa in maritime Tuscany, where the Mediterranean coast fed his imagination. In 1965, he met a Swiss woman on the Italian Riviera and followed her to Switzerland, joining her family's watch-manufacturing business near Bienne. A skilled micro-mechanical engineer, Remo gained experience in private-label production and complex watch development before launching his own brand in 1987 in Neuchâtel. He drew on memories of pebbled beaches to design the Pulchra collection, featuring an organic pebble-shaped bracelet. The Vir collection followed in 1994 and the brand entered high-end luxury with rapid success. In 1999, Remo suffered a serious accident, forcing the family to sell. The brand passed through investors during the 2001 crisis before the Dickson Group acquired it in 2005, bringing new resources to revive the brand.