There are collections born out of luck, and others born out of obsession. Carlo Biagioli’s belongs to the latter — and he states it with the pride of someone who knows that every piece shown in these pages carries a story, a journey, a negotiation, a moment of grace. For over forty years, Carlo has traveled the world with the trained eye of someone who knows exactly where to look: flea markets and luxury salons, quiet auctions in private residences, and the forgotten shop windows of provincial watchmakers. He has learned to recognize an original case by touch, to read the character of a dial as one reads a face, and to understand whether a movement is correct even before opening the case back. The result of this discipline is the collection you hold in your hands — or rather, the one you are about to see pass before your eyes. Ninety watches. Ninety instruments for measuring time that, in a certain sense, have stopped it. Each one has been selected according to precise criteria: authenticity above all, then rarity, then condition, and finally that more elusive quality collectors simply call “presence.” Since we were very young, Carlo and I have always shared an appreciation for the beauty of the tangible — everything that passed before our eyes. Over time, each of us built our own collection.
We decided to carry this passion into the world of watches by creating the brand “Brutti Anatroccoli” — curated selections of vintage timepieces with added value. A way to rediscover vintage design meeting a contemporary spirit, for wrists that want to speak of style and stories. Over the years, Carlo also built The Vintageur, a reference platform for enthusiasts of vintage watchmaking, where his expertise has evolved into a method: to document, to contextualize, to enhance. That same method underpins every lot presented in this catalogue. Choosing to auction ninety pieces is never an easy decision for someone who collects with this level of dedication. It is an act of generosity toward the world — the belief that these watches deserve new hands to appreciate them, new stories to be added to their own. Not a divestment, but a passing of the torch. Those who acquire a watch from this selection are not simply purchasing a fine mechanical object. They are acquiring a way of seeing the world: that of a man who has dedicated his entire life to understanding how human ingenuity has, for centuries, managed to enclose time within a circle of metal and crystal.
Alessandro Squarzi
Collector