Go Gagà: GaGà Laboratorio and Mo Coppoletta’s Vision for a New Age of Wristwatches

If you were born in the eighties, like me, you were a child of Back to the Future. With that film came all the recognisable cultural touchpoints of the decade — the gilets and the high- top trainers, Huey Lewis and the News, the hairstyles, and, of course, the DeLorean. What’s more, Back to the Future introduced kids of the eighties to the 1950s, perhaps the most creative, optimistic and culturally potent era of modern history, when America made the post-war playbook all about them, and through architecture, fashion and automobiles showed that something beautiful could emerge from the horrors of the previous decade. 

In the fifties, concepts were reborn; audaciousness was rewarded. From colour schemes and materials to styles, it was a time for experimentation, and the chaos of creativity somehow found a harmony. Today, the aesthetics of the fifties are unmistakeable. 

Therefore, the new GaGà Laboratorio watch collection, Labormatic, feels like a cheat code to my generation’s desires. It carries that intrepid creative spirit and flourish. The watches have one foot in nostalgia and another in the avant-garde, part Art Deco, part steampunk. 

I wanted to create an object that evoked some suggestion of the past without being redundantly retro. 

The brand was founded by Ruben Tomella in 2020 (as an offshoot of GaGà Milano, which he founded in 2004). He tells The Rake that the brand “was born from a family tradition and a concept of refined elegance rooted in the Milanese dialect of the 1950s. The term ‘gagà’ was used to describe a unique and sophisticated style, one that has always defined my grandfather, my father and me. This spirit inspired us to create GaGà Laboratorio, bringing this concept of elegance into the world of watches.” 

A new brand needs not only a watch but a visual identity. For this, Tomella showed his smarts by handing the creative reins to Mo Coppoletta. Brands such as Bulgari, Rolls-Royce, Montblanc and Turnbull & Asser have turned to Mo for his rich and dynamic artistry; considering he is a consummate watch collector and enthusiast, he was the perfect person to flip the script on what we can expect from wristwatches. “What captivated me most about the project was the possibility to create from scratch not only the watch but the whole identity and stylistic direction of every aspect of the new brand,” he says. 

“For the watch, the only brief I had was to design a timepiece whose perceived value was going to be much higher compared to its commercial value. I know it could sound like an obvious statement, but having a relatively low price point — a market segment that is widely explored by the watch industry nowadays, with a lot of beautiful, creative timepieces — has been a great challenge. It would have been easier to design a more expensive watch, obviously, so I could only rely on its appeal and the execution of the design with the right materials, quality of construction, etc — a real ‘design’ job.” 

Yes, this is a point worth dwelling on. The watch costs £4,000, so it sits in the entry level of the mechanical watch market. The surprise of the design is matched only by the surprise of the price point, and the design is still the major characteristic. It is wonderful to gawp at — to quote Virginia Woolf discussing Beau Brummell, without a single point of emphasis, everything is distinguished.

The inspiration comes from a gentleman’s pocket-watch (hence the crown at 12 o’clock) but reinterpreted for the wrist. Mo says of the creative process that, “With such a blank canvas, I needed a direction. Considering the values of the brand, and knowing Ruben’s strong Italian roots and stylistic approach, I wanted to add my interpretation of what a contemporary watch would look like if we were still at the apex of the post-war Italian design ‘El Dorado’ of the fifties and sixties. The choices of colours and materials were a direct consequence in order to better interpret that sentiment.”

The dial is in seven parts, and despite being multi-layered is incredibly smooth, “like an old coach car”, Mo says. He adds: “You can enjoy the cohesive feel or indulge the details at the same time. A special mention to the lugs: even if they have a strong personality, 

they fit the design and the wearability of the watch very well.” Sweeping hour watches with central minutes are a direct design pull from the sixties, but the memory of them is all but lost — except to aesthetes like Coppoletta, who know when lost trends deserve to be excavated. “I think Labormatic is an avant-garde watch in an old-fashioned sense of the word,” he says. “I wanted to create, like I try to do in all my other work, an object that can evoke some suggestion from the past without being redundantly retro, and with a fresh, contemporary feel. I think it’s the best way to get inspired from the glorious past.” 

The unveiling of the Labormatic sent everyone in the horological ecosystem into some kind of flutter. The contemporary generation of watch observers needed this kind of solution for a watch that plays the Art Deco notes. It is not just for enthusiasts of that era, though. Mo says: “My objective is to create a timepiece that is truly unique, with design as its defining feature. Its exceptional uniqueness, aesthetic appeal, design and watchmaking quality position it to attract a diverse clientele. 

“Initially it will appeal to connoisseurs of independent watches, but it will also capture the attention of the lifestyle sector and those with a discerning appreciation for beauty. It is intended for individuals seeking something distinctive and wishing to distinguish themselves by wearing a timepiece that seamlessly integrates remarkable design with superior horological craftsmanship.” 

Fears of a downturn in the watch industry have met their match in the release of the Labormatic, and a brand that, fired by Coppoletta’s imagination, can restore adventure and pleasure to horology. There is no going back.