On the one hand, Mazzucato Monza delights and arouses interest. On the other hand, they are openly angry. On the one hand, they give very little for their price, on the other, they give a lot. You wear them, and the sensations are tossed around: “How can I use them anyway?” to “Aw, it doesn’t matter, they’re so charismatic!”
In general, this review will be difficult...
Before starting the review, we need to show the main feature of the Mazzucato Monza - the rotating body. On the one hand, the watch is a mechanical 3-hand watch, on the other, a quartz chronograph. To change the mode, you need to open the arms and turn the case over with the other side up on a special hinge (it sounds complicated, but it’s done in 5-6 seconds).
Now that we know that, let's go.
Jewelry background, Italian design and Hong Kong roots
In 1935, the Italian Mazzucato family opened a silver jewelry workshop in Milan, which is still in business today. In the 2000s, Simone Mazzucato, after a creative start in the family jewelry business, went into watchmaking. He started as a designer for a little-known Italian brand in Russia, and eventually founded his own watch design studio and the Mazzucato watch brand. The year of foundation is not stated, but as I understand it, the watches began to be sold in 2017 or 2018.
Mazzucato's motto is Never Boring, “Never a dull moment.” But in my opinion, EverMad, “Always Mad,” would be more suitable. There is still at least some logic in the inverted chronograph from our review - what do you think of the flagship pseudo-diver with the WR100, equipped with two approximately identical Miyota movements? But despite its dubious practicality, Mazzucato is a design breakthrough. It seems that no one has ever made such “revolutionary” cases, which have become the hallmark of the brand. And Mazzucato’s design received recognition - the watch took gold and silver at the European Product Design Awards in 2018-2021.
Nothing is said about the country of production of Mazzucato watches, but everywhere the emphasis is on Italian design. This usually means that watches are made somewhere in the east. Well, it is: on the website of the design award won by the brand, it is said that it is Hong Kong.
Mazzucato has a younger brother - the M2Z brand with a single diver model. The price of the M2Z begins and ends at the feet of Mazzucato's youngest model. At the same time, M2Z is also very bright, but much more practical and closer to the appearance of the watches we are familiar with. Well, a good way to attract those for whom flagships are too unusual.
Associations. Fast cars from the north of Italy
The north of Italy is not only Milan with the jewelry workshop of the Mazzucato family, but also legendary car brands: Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Pagani, Alfa Romeo. It's no surprise that most of Mazzucato's collections are dedicated to motorsport. Our watches belong to the Monza collection. It is named after the town where the Formula 1 stage takes place (by the way, also in northern Italy).
In general, the theme “Watches and fast cars” is popular among designers: it ranges from the affordable micro brand Autodromo to the fantastic Richard Mille Ferrari. But usually the “racing” nature of the design is expressed by stylizing it as a car’s instruments. But Mazzucato chose a rarer path: the design is built around the wheel (the dial) and the tire (the body). This “tire,” by the way, is made of almost eternal carbon fiber, which in itself is also associated with motorsport.
The print on the rubber strap is made in the form of a tread pattern.
However, this is nothing new under the sun. For example, back in the 2000s, Casio styled the case to look like a wheel and the strap to look like a slick tire in the much more affordable Edifice series. But the Mazzucato Monza is a completely different level of development, one of the most amazing “auto racing” watch models.
However, it reminds me of more than just racing.
Associations. Autobots, go!
(Do not read this chapter if you are not familiar with the Transformers franchise: you did not watch the cartoon as a child or Hollywood blockbusters in the 2010s and 2020s)
Monza reminds me of the transforming Autobot Crosshairs. So what? Black and green, with gears and batteries inside, and transformable too!
Delight: design and build quality
Over the past year, I've been introduced to several unusual timepieces designed by talented designers, most notably CIGA Design Event Horizon and The Electricianz. Mazzucato Monza is also from this cohort. I deeply respect unusual vision, courage, the desire to do what no one has done before, and the willingness to bring a fantastic idea to reality. As a result, this watch definitely attracts attention: both the owner and those around him.
To be fair, Mazzucato is far from the only turning watch. There are, after all, the legendary JLC Reverso, and many others.
However, I have never seen a design exactly like Mazzucato’s (with a drop-down frame and one side hinge). By the way, it has a name - Reverse Industrial Movement, abbreviated RIM. And in English, rim is a “wheel,” so there is also a play on words.
The workmanship of this unusual watch also left a wonderful impression. First of all, this concerns the rotating mechanism: it feels made solidly and durable. Its durability is beyond doubt (although I wouldn’t drop an open watch on the floor), and the clear click when the hinge rotates and locks into its final position feels solid and expensive.
Mazzucato Monza also delights with its attention to detail. The huge wheel rim on the front side seems to be powder coated. Under the disc lies a black metal mesh, which personally reminds me of the interior of a rally car. Cool and unusual!
I would call the design of the date ideal: it perfectly matches the colors of the watch, has an elegant round applied metal frame and is not at all conspicuous. At the same time, the date is clearly readable if you need to look at it. The hands, although flat, are made clearly and without flaws. I would also like to note that it has a good anti-glare effect: you can feel it.
There is also something to look at on the reverse, chronographic side. The dial disk is raised on three supports above the deep well of the case. There was a small gap left at the edges - not enough to see the insides, but enough so that the dial seemed to float above a black abyss. Beautiful! The parts are fastened with polished, shiny screws. The seconds subdial has a concentric guilloche, and the dial itself is complex and multi-level.
The case pleases with clear, sharp edges and alternating types of finishes: matte temples, polished protective bracket. Thin chamfers have been removed along the edges of the bracket. The crown is usually not visible because it is hidden underneath. But Mazzucato did not skimp on details and engraved the logo on it.
Well, the bright green loop that locks the shackle reminded me of racing car hood locks.
The strap is also a solid five: it is beautiful and fits the watch perfectly. The pluses are the “racing” print, softness, and a powerful, cool buckle. One of the disadvantages is the non-standard fastening, that is, it can only be replaced with a branded strap. In general, I don’t like this, but specifically in this watch, everything is 200% justified by the design. However, you can immediately order a replacement strap in reserve - who knows when they will stop being produced.
Alas, there were some offensive shortcomings. The hour dial has two minute rings: an inner one with dots and an outer one with marks. The markings on them do not match, which is especially noticeable at the 12 o’clock position with a large triangle. Moreover, the outer circle itself raises questions. The 1/5 second markings are needed only for precision chronographs, and are useless for a 3-hand watch. Highlighting the zone from 0 to 20 minutes in white also raises the question - why?
Ergonomics
Telling the time using the Mazzucato dial means forever overcoming reflexes. The spokes of the decorative disc on the main dial are large and clearly visible. On the contrary, the hour markings are small, almost invisible. And there are not 12 spokes, according to the number of hour markers, and not, say, 7 or 20. There are 14 of them, with the top pair of spokes located at the 12 o’clock position. This is enough for you to reflexively perceive the knitting needles as hour markers - and be mistaken. As a result, it is quite difficult to understand time at a glance.
After a few days, you force yourself not to look at the knitting needles, but to peer at the small marks. Why not make a 12-spoke wheel by synchronizing the spokes with the markings, eh, Mazzucato? There is also no lume at all, but given the general problems with reading the time, this is no longer important.
The chronograph is not intended to be used at all. It only takes one button press to run it on a traditional watch. On my smartwatch in the current setting there are three presses, and this is no longer very convenient. On Monza... It's easier to take a smartphone and run a stopwatch on it than to remove the watch and reassemble the case. In addition, a 30-minute chronograph is frankly not enough - for example, it’s not enough to track the cooking time of meat.
As a result, after playing with the rotating body enough, I never turned it to the chrono side. And to find out the exact time, I always looked at my right hand with a smart watch. Well, Monza became a curiosity: it was on hand, attracted attention, and became a reason to talk with several fellow watch lovers.
As for the fit, this watch is definitely only for big guys. This seems to be the largest watch I've ever worn: 48mm in diameter, 19,6mm thick, 58mm lug-to-lug on the underside. On the contrary, my hand is thin: the wrist circumference is 17,5 cm. This does not prevent me from wearing quite large watches with comfort - for example, the 47 mm Tuna, the 46 mm Event Horizon and the Tsar Bomba with their 51,5 mm between ears.
But Mazzucato... For me they are heavy and uncomfortable: they either hang unbalanced or (if tightened) put pressure on the bone. Even strongly bent down ears don't help. And the glass above the chronometer is flat, and above the main dial is slightly domed. That is, if you put the watch on with the chronometer facing up, it will fit even worse. However, for wrists 20+ everything is probably much better.
Good Japanese mechanics and long-lived quartz
So, there are two calibers inside the watch. The automatic Miyota 9015 is installed on the front side. It is very good: Miyota is part of the Japanese Citizen corporation, and specifically the 9015 is part of the Premium Automatic line and is designed to compete with the Swiss ETA-2824 and Sellita SW200. According to the passport, 9015 guarantees an accuracy of no less than -10/+30 seconds per day, in fact it is much more accurate. Otherwise, the caliber has a gentleman’s set of characteristics: everything you need, nothing superfluous. Power reserve - 42 hours, frequency - 28 vibrations per hour, stop second and manual winding - available.
The chronograph on the reverse side is driven by a very simple quartz Miyota JS00. The bottom button starts and stops the countdown, the top one resets to 0. There is no instant reset, only a slow, boring unscrewing of the hands back: if you reset the readings at 28 minutes, wait until the second hand goes back 28 laps. The chronograph increments are 1 second, which means that it will not be possible to detect the exact time of passing the race track. Theoretically, the JS00 also has the current time with an accuracy of -20/+20 seconds per month, but this is not important for you: the chronograph has a second hand, but no minute and hour hands. There is also a 24-hour dial - a 6-spoke wheel at 8 o'clock. Half of the wheel is white, half is gray, and on the mount next to it there is a noticeable mark - that is, you can read the time... It would be possible, if you are not too lazy to take off your watch for this.
In theory, the SR 621 SW caliber battery will last for 3 years (some say 2 years), but in practice it will probably last much longer - because due to the ergonomics, you are unlikely to want to use the Mazzucato Monza as a chronograph. By the way, such a simple caliber was probably installed here for the same reason: why spend money on something more expensive that won’t be used anyway? )
The price of an idea
The Mazzucato Monza is slightly more expensive than the Swiss Titoni chronometer. For this money, Titoni offers a top grade ETA/Sellita movement with COSC certification, WR100 and sapphire. Mazzucato - not bad, but still Miyota. The glass is tempered, but still mineral. WR - only 50 m. Chronograph - the simplest 30-minute, without instant reset. Why?
I have one answer: at Mazzucato we pay for the idea, for the innovative design - after all, not a single competitor dared to take aim at such a form factor, such a fantastic and bright design. Also, probably, for the design and production of a custom body and, to some extent, for carbon fiber.
It turns out that on the one hand, the price of Mazzucato is unreasonably high. You can find watches with the same or better performance for less money. On the other hand, the price is reasonable, because no one else will sell you such an atmospheric, charismatic watch. Because no one makes watches like this except Simone Mazzucato.
Who is this watch for?
This is roughly how I imagine the picture into which this watch would fit perfectly:
A strong guy left the gym and got into his bright green convertible. In Mazzucato, the left hand rested as usual on the steering wheel, and the right hand on the gear selector. With a deep purr, the car slowly rolled along the sunlit road along the beach...
▪️ Strong, from the gym - because Mazzucato Monza requires a large hand, and other dimensions too.
▪️ Sun, beach - because this watch is not for office style, not for smart casual and not for long sleeves at all.
▪️ Slowly - because this watch is definitely not for rushing and keeping track of time. They are not for time watching at all.
▪️ Bright green convertible - because this watch is for those who want and know how to attract attention.
Yes, that's how charismatic they are. This is a big plus if you like their charisma and is attracted to you, and a big minus if not.
Summing up
Did I like this watch? The courage and originality of the idea, the quality of the watch, the atmosphere - yes. Practicality - no. In general, subjectively - absolutely not my thing.
Who would I recommend them to? I will refrain from giving advice. These watches are chosen with the heart and eye (and fitting!), but certainly not with the mind. If love at first sight happens, advice is unnecessary. If not, they are useless.
Subjective assessment. Charisma comes at the expense of functionality - but this can also be an advantage, depending on the purpose of the purchase. They definitely have no competitors with this design.
