MAURIZIO COZZANI
Lawyer
Maurizio (plock33 on Instagram) is a 39 year-old Italian civil lawyer.
Contemporary art has always been his passion, but in 2012 he started to collect watches, focusing his attention on Speedmaster watches above all, military watches and OMEGA watches in general.
1. Do you remember your first watch?
Actually I had 2 first watches. The first watch I really wanted was a SWATCH. It was back in 1992 and SWATCH watches were the latest craze. I was 13 years old and I was on a school trip abroad. I remember when we saw a shop selling SWATCH watches and we literally stormed it. I felt so proud to have bought a wonderful Discobolus, which I wore daily until the strap broke. But there has been another “first watch”, which was the starting point of my passion and collection: a ROLEX 16710, which I bought in 2012. Now I hardly wear it (I don’t like it anymore), but without that watch I wouldn’t have followed this route, so I think I will take care of it as long as possible.
2. The 3 most iconic watch models?
OMEGA Speedmaster, ROLEX Submariner and OMEGA Seamaster Ploprof.
3. A noteworthy anecdote with one of your watches?
I agreed on an “even trade” with a foreign dealer. As it was a swap, deciding who should send the watch first was a bit embarrassing. I took the first step asking him (in my rough and imperfect English): “Is any of your friends going to Monaco next week?” And he answered: “Of course! A good friend of mine who came to visit me lives there!”. “Great news!” I replied, and immediately contacted one of my friends who wanted to go to the show that is held regularly there. The swap should have taken place in Monaco on the Saturday preceding the show. My friend who should have received my watch, on Friday, contacted the dealer’s friend in order to arrange a meeting with him. On Friday night, my friend called me and told me: “Hi! The watch is in Monaco… tomorrow. I’ll be in Munich, not in Monaco!”. Now I know that in English the two cities have very different names… the one we call “Monaco” in Italy is quite far from Munich (“Monaco di Baviera” in Italian)… Monaco in Italian can mean either the tiny principality on the French Riviera, or Bavaria’s capital!
4. Are you more modern or vintage?
Vintage, without any doubt. There is no modern watch that fascinates me like a vintage one.
5. I love Speedmasters because …
Because it’s the most basic and essential chronograph that can be imagined, with the most important and complex history that can be studied. I love “tool watches” that show traces of their original use and purpose. I love PloProf watches because they have been created for a purpose, almost with no particular attention to aesthetics. I prefer military watches as they are the quintessence of the tool and of the lack of frills. I love Speedmaster because, in my opinion, it perfectly combines – in its aesthetic simplicity and its history – both the simple and functional aesthetics of the wristwatch and the purpose for which it was designed. I have very little to add, it is impossible not to love a watch that contributed to take men to the Moon…
6. Your favorite Speedmaster?
2998-2 Lollipop brown. It has been my first important watch and the first one with the brown dial.
7. A single personal item you would take with you for a long stay on the Moon?
A picture of my wife and my son. I didn’t answer “an OMEGA Speedmaster” because if I was on the Moon I would already have one (LOL), so let’s focus on the real things first and by the way, my wife will definitely read this interview…
8. You just won the lottery. Do you first buy a sports car or call a financial advisor?
A sports car. I never had one and I don’t think I will ever have one, as I don’t think I will won the lottery. But you just asked me to dream – and I can be honest without worrying about my wife’s complaints (isn’t that normal?). After all, I would take her picture with me on the Moon. What else can she possibily wish for?
9. Where would you spend the next 24 hours if you had a teleporter?
If I had a space teleporter, I would love to spend 24 hours in Tokyo. I have never been there and the idea of getting there without a long flight fascinates me. If I could time-travel, I would spend 24 hours in Paris in 1907, hoping to see Picasso in his office while painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. But if I couldn’t find him, I would spend a few hours at the Moulin Rouge (note for my wife: please keep in mind that, once I come back, I will take a picture of you to the Moon with me).
10. How many times a day do you watch … your watch?
Too many times, but not to tell the time. Even if I cannot wear a watch with the date display not showing the correct date.
11. The last watch you bought?
OMEGA Speedmaster 2998-6 FAP, it is like a dream for me: OMEGA, Speedmaster and a military watch. The best I could imagine!
12. What’s on your wrist today?
OMEGA Speedmaster 2915-1.
