Most of the time, if not all of the time, when we are here to tell you about a watch we cannot help but tell you the fantastic stories that they encompass and that, at times, have actually led to the creation of the watch in question.
A few times, however, we forget one piece of the puzzle, which I think is crucial, of this amazing world of watchmaking: the places where you can buy our beloved timepieces.
As obvious as it may sometimes dismember, the history of the world’s most important dealers represents a truly fundamental part of watchmaking history, on a par with the history that encompasses every watch on our wrist, so much so that over the years watches from the most important maisons have been created with dials signed by dealers.
So let us go today to discover what has been the history, from 1794 to the present, of one of the world’s most famous dealers located in the heart of Rome: Hausmann & Co.
The origins and the 19th century
The history of the historic Roman dealer traces its roots back to 1794, the year it all began inside the workshop founded by Giovanni Ricci at Palazzo Piombino in Piazza Colonna and which, from then on, would be the company’s first historic headquarters.
Within a few years, the fame of the historic store near Piazza Colonna was consolidated to the point where it became one of the main landmarks for watchmaking, partly due to the fact that it was beginning to experience a prosperous time for watchmaking and timepieces were becoming one of the must-have accessories.
The year 1854 marks one of the first pivotal teppe for historic watchmaking as Innocenzo Ricci first purchased a pocket watch produced by the renowned maison Vacheron & Costantin.
Indeed, that purchase marked the birth of the longest-running partnership between the Geneva-based maison and the historic Roman watchmaker. A collaboration that has lasted more than 160 years and has allowed Hausmann & Co. to become the dealer able to boast the longest partnership in the world with the Swiss company. Those years also saw the beginning of the world of mass-produced watches, which would gradually replace the handcrafted watches that had dominated the scene until that time.
About ten years after the beginning of the collaboration with Vacheron, the historic Roman workshop passed completely into the hands of Giovanni Romano’s son, Innocenzo, who in 1870 decided to partner with a skilled watchmaker of German origin, Ernst Hausmann, who decided to invest in machinery for machining watch gears that can still be found in the dealer’s Archives today.
In 1871 the first paper document in the history of the Roman workshop was produced and is still preserved in the company’s archives.
The year 1881 marked an important turning point as the historic Ricci firm was taken over by Ernst Hausmann for the sum of 20,000 liras. The year 1884, on the other hand, saw the first document, bearing the sale of a watch for 200 liras, attesting to the beginning of the collaboration with the renowned German manufacture A. Lange & Söhne.
The historic Roman company also began to specialize in the maintenance and repair of timepieces by hiring experienced watchmakers.
To this day the company retains the historic records that testify to the repairs carried out since 1888, among which are the names of such illustrious figures as Her Majesty Queen Margherita of Savoy. In 1889 the headquarters was moved from the historic Palazzo Piombino in Piazza Colonna to temporary premises on Via Bocca di Leone. The first watches produced and branded by Hausmann are also dated to that period, thanks to an advertisement in the company’s archives.
In 1891, only two years after the temporary move, Hausmann moved permanently to 406 Via del Corso.
The 20th century
Toward the end of the 19th century a decisive figure in the future history of the Roman company appears on the scene as Hermann Frielingsdorf, a German technician with whom Ernst Hausmann began to collaborate.
To enshrine the beginning of this new collaboration, the name of the company was changed to “Hausmann & Co.” At the same time, the collaboration with one of the world’s most important and historic maisons was born as Hausmann & Co, in 1897, drew up the first sales document pertaining to a gold Patek Philippe pocket watch.
In the years to follow, testimony to the strong and enduring partnership between the two companies will be numerous, now highly sought-after examples of Patek Philippe with dials signed by the historic dealer in Rome.
With the advent of the new century, which marks the beginning of the Bella Epoque, the historic watchmaker in Rome increasingly honed its technical skills in the world of hands and also decided to expand by opening two new stores located in Naples and Genoa.
The high level of technical expertise developed over the years also granted Hausmann & Co. the privilege of being entrusted in 1903 with the restoration of the Parma Planispherologium by the Holy See, housed inside the Vatican Museums. The skill of the Frielingsdorf and Hausmann watchmakers enabled the Roman firm to breathe new life into the Planispherologium’s intricate movements through its skill in fabricating missing components.
This skill also enabled Hausmann & Co., in 1904, to enter into a contract with the railway company “Strade Ferrate del Mediterraneo” to maintain the clocks in the stations and the pocket watches of the watchmen, inspectors and all traveling personnel.
In 1906, the skilled watchmakers of Hausmann & Co, made a precision pendulum clock that was presented at the International Exhibition in Milan. A total of 10 such clocks were made, one of which can still be seen at the historic Via del Corso headquarters of Hausmann & Co.
In 1907, abetted by the fact that he had restored the Planisferologio in Parma, Pope Pius X bestowed on Ernst Hausmann the title of Knight of St. Sylvester as well as the maintenance of all 80 clocks at the Holy See.
As a result of all these events, it is easy to understand how much of a success story it was, from the very beginning, by a small workshop that would from then on write entire pages of watchmaking history.
With the advent of the First Great War in 1915, the historic company unfortunately had to come to terms with the death of the company’s designated heirs, Max and Joseph Hausmann, who fell during a conflict. A tragic event that shuffled the cards on the table but did not stop the relentless growth of the expansion and research design by the Roman company.
With the end of the war in 1918, what was then the institutional arrangement was completely redesigned and, as a result, the rules to be applied to the companies also changed. For this reason, according to the laws of the time, the company had to be given legal status, and for this reason Aloys Hausmann and Hermann Frielingsdorf formed the new company under the name “Hausmann & C.” in such a way as to reflect the regulations in force.
In the 1930s, Hausmann & Co.’s store, covered with a fame now never known to all, became such a gathering place for prominent figures that the historic store earned the nickname of salon.
Before long, what might have seemed like a lasting calm turned into World War II, which featured most of the world’s states and, as a result, threw the entire global economy into serious crisis .
Reflexively, the historic Hausmann & Co. did everything it could to keep the ship from sinking, and in the postwar period, it was able to return to full strength on par with the period immediately preceding the conflict.
The 1960s, famous for kicking off an economic and innovative boom, were also a strong inspiration for Hausmann to the point that he developed the first speed camera, through the use of a camera and a chronograph clock, and the invention of precision time stations during those years.
In those years, moreover, Hausmann & Co.’s savoir-faire was instrumental in the diffusion of wristwatches made of precious materials and, above all, in the beginning of their collaboration with one of the world’s most important maisons, Rolex, thanks to the takeover of the “Pelloni” store at Largo Goldoni, already a dealer of the crowned brand.
In this way, Hausmann had doubled its presence on the historic Via del Corso, and shortly thereafter would prepare to celebrate its 175th anniversary in 1969 through the organization of an exhibition of watches from the famous watchmaking museums in Le Locle and Chaux-des-Fonds.
The late 1970s represents a pivotal period for Hausmann & Co. as it represents the time of its overseas expansion.
In fact, in 1977, Hausmann & Co. opened a new boutique in New York thanks to Carla Frielingdorf. In the 1990s, however, began Hausmann & Co.’s collaboration with the Italian Navy and the CNR to install precision time stations on naval ships.
1994 marked the 200th year since the founding of the Roman company. The anniversary was celebrated with the collaboration of Patek Philippe, who produced a limited series of 100 pieces of the reference 5000 in rose gold.
The 2000s
In 2001, yet another turning point for this great Roman reality occurred with the opening of the store on Via dei Condotti, one of the most prestigious streets in the Italian capital.
Instead, 2010 marked the opening of the third boutique, again in the heart of Rome, but this time on Via del Babuino, and for the occasion the historic watch dealer decided to create a new jewelry collection signed Hausmann & Co.
Instead, 2014, for the historic Roman dealer, represents the celebration of 160 years of collaboration with the Vacheron Costantin maison, and 16 exclusive models each dedicated to each decade of collaboration are created for the occasion.
Instead, 2018 saw the opening of the Rolex boutique, under Hausmann’s leadership, on Via dei Condotti, which of established inside a historic building in the city.
In 2019, the celebrations of the Roman company’s 225 years of uninterrupted activity begin, which are even more celebrated with the opening, in the same year, of the signature Patek Philippe boutique Hausmann & Co on Via dei Condotti.
Given the long tradition in the watch industry and the renowned reputation earned over more than 200 years in the business, Hausmann was given the task of opening the first Italian Tudor boutique in 2020.
Thanks to the desire to stay in step with the times and be as pioneering as possible in the watch industry, in 2022 Hausmann & Co. decided to land within Web 3.0, making the boutique the first of its kind to present itself in the Metaverse.
Our take
Known worldwide by enthusiasts, Hausmann’s business has always been a benchmark for the watchmaking world.
Driven by the desire to innovate more and more in this field, Hausmann & Co. for over 200 years has represented an ever-growing company that is sure to bring us some interesting innovations in the future in terms of service but, more importantly, in terms of products.
Whether or not you are a fan of this world, their story deserves to be read in one go so that you can be captivated and intrigued at the same time.
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