“Being a woman in this men’s world is not that easy or common.”- Giorgio Mondani (in an interview with the New York Times)
Those words are powerful, echoing the very realities of the world we’re in. Like many other industries, the Watch business is male dominated. That has been the norm since before the first ever wristwatch was made. The pendulum was an important part of a man’s class and elegance between the 16th and 18th centuries. When wristwatches came to be, women wore them more prior to the 20th century, but men were the makers and drivers of the industry.
One woman, Giorgio Mondani dared to dream. She saw a vision and ran with it, and is today a leading figure in the wristwatch industry. But it didn’t always seem like it was going to be. In fact, Giorgio wasn’t sure of what she was going to do until her late teen years. As a young girl, she was a promising tennis player, amassing trophies and gaining a spot in the circle of the world’s best players. By the time she clocked 19, it became clear what she had always wanted all along. But that didn’t come without some sacrifice.
Giorgia Mondani abandoned her thriving tennis career to further her studies and eventually join the family business after one year at internationally acclaimed auction house, Antiquorum. Her father and popular watch expert and author, Guido Mondani had earlier just auctioned 309 items from the family’s Wristwatch collection. It sold for more than 11 Million Swiss Franc. Since then, the family has been working to rebuild their collection of vintage and luxury Rolex watches and those produced by other brands.
Although Giorgia was born into a family fascinated by wristwatches, she has always wanted to make a path for herself. There were Rolexes everywhere, to the point that her first word as a child was “Rolex”, according to her biography in the Family’s Publishing Website. Her first real contact with Rolex was a classic Rolex Oyster her father gifted her when she became the best Under 16 European tennis player almost two decades ago. Now almost 35, Giorgia is an inspiration to millions around the world.
She created MondaniWeb out of nothing but sheer passion, in-depth knowledge of watches, especially Rolex, a desire to change things and lots of trust in her abilities. But she also had social media. That was one avenue she took advantage of (and still does), with support from her husband Danielle Di Murro. She has an impressive 210,000 Instagram fans. Creating Mondani web meant she could now build a network of vendorsand dealers and connect them to buyers and enthusiasts. She told Monochrome that she now has more than 140 dealers and about 40 partners on Mondani web.
Giorgio Mondani is also the editor of the Mondani Magazine, an online publication on all things watches, events, auctions and guides. She brings her wealth of experience to bear on that one. Mondani is an established author and a huge part of Mondani Books. She has written several books by herself and co-authored some with her father and mother, Franca Mondani. Her work is so renowned that the New York Times describes her as someone who “knows more about watches, especially Rolexes, than almost anyone in the industry except for her father”.
“The Watch world was interesting to me”, she said in an interview with the New York Times, adding that it was great to have “the possibility to do something with my dad.” These were her driving force. If you ever need any resource on wristwatches; a Rolex Daytona or a classic Panerai, you know where to look. Giorgia Mondani has truly made her mark in the wristwatch industry.
