The short answer: Gucci watches were never made in Florence. From 1972 the name was licensed to Severin Montres, the company of the American Severin Wunderman, which had them produced in Switzerland, around Bienne. That is why the dial says «Swiss Made» beside the name of an Italian house: the design is Florentine, the movement Swiss. The licence ran until 1997, when Gucci bought the company back; in 1998, the last year under Wunderman, watch sales passed 550 million dollars.
Severin Wunderman was a watch salesman when he met Aldo Gucci, son of the founder. The meeting led first to a job, then a friendship, and finally to the watch licence, which most sources date to 1972 — a few put it as early as 1968. Wunderman founded Severin Montres to hold it and later moved the head office to Switzerland, close to production.
His commercial idea differed from that of the watch houses: sell through department stores rather than jewellers, leaning on the Gucci name. It worked. In the best years the group distributed through more than four thousand retail outlets worldwide and produced over a million watches a year.
In 1997 Gucci bought Severin Montres back. Wunderman, bound by a two-year non-compete clause, went on to buy the majority of Corum as soon as it expired. He died in 2008.
The horsebit was born in 1953 as the ornament of a loafer, at Aldo Gucci's initiative. It is a miniature of a bridle bit, and it comes from the equestrian world: in the years when the house was taking shape, riding was the hobby of much of its clientele.
On the precise inspiration the versions diverge: by one account Aldo conceived it watching the clientele of a London hotel; by another, after a trip to New York. Neither is independently documented, and that is worth knowing before repeating them as fact.
On watches the horsebit almost never appears on the dial: it sits on the bracelet clasp, and it is the detail that lets you recognise the 1500L family at a glance.
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Anyone looking for a vintage Gucci finds the same reference dated 1985 by one seller, 1996 by another and 2002 by a third. It is not bad faith: Severin Montres produced the same references for years, case numbers are not public, and most pieces have reached us without papers. A stated year without a source is an opinion.
That is why the year appears in our listings only when it is documented — usually by the warranty booklets in the box. Where it is not, we leave it out, and we would rather give a broad period than invent a precise date.
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Both. The name and the design are Italian, the production Swiss: from 1972 the licence belonged to Severin Montres, which had the watches produced around Bienne. That is why the dial reads «Swiss Made».
In most cases it cannot be established with certainty: the same references stayed in production for years and case numbers are not public. The only reliable proof is a dated warranty booklet. Be wary of anyone giving a precise year without papers.
On the bracelet, as the clasp. On the 1500L family it is the first detail you recognise. On the dial you find the double-G logo or the Gucci signature instead.
The gilt versions are gold-plated steel, not solid gold. Our listings always write «gold plate» in full: it is a difference of substance, and it shows in the price.
