Giuliano Mazzuoli - Touches Greatness
Thursday - 16 February 2012
It is difficult to comprehend the full extent of the late Paul Newman’s generosity. His foundations gave hundreds of millions of dollars to thousands of charities; his millions surely have touched millions. Shortly before Newman died he touched an individual, watchmaker Giuliano Mazzuoli, who is a giver as well.
These two, Newman and Mazzuoli, were joined by a common passion, the sport of auto racing. Those who followed the life of Paul Newman, and in actuality who didn’t, likely recalls seeing a photograph of him, helmet on and behind the wheel, or read a story or two of his exploits at the racetrack. Gee, didn’t he even make a movie or two about racing? On the other hand, Mazzuoli is one of the greats of Italian car racing from a few years back.
Every watch that bears the famous Mazzuoli mark is geared to racing. Each model seems to bear a fast and furious resemblance to tachometers on race cars. In 2008, the watchmaker premiered his newest model, the Contagiri, and dedicated the watch to Paul Newman. In awe of the great man, Mazzuoli was able to arrange a personal meeting between them and present his hero with the Contagiri watch.
They were a hit out of the gate and talked for hours. “His eyes lit up,” Giuliano Mazzuoli recalls, when Newman spoke of his Hole in the Wall Camps. No wonder, the “Hole in the Wall Camps”, named after the Hole in the Wall gang from Newman’s 1969 movie with Robert Redford, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, have touched the lives of nearly 115,000 children from over 30 countries. It is noted as the largest organisation of its type in the world. Parents will often describe the camp experience as magical for a seriously ill child.
These two, Newman and Mazzuoli, were joined by a common passion, the sport of auto racing. Those who followed the life of Paul Newman, and in actuality who didn’t, likely recalls seeing a photograph of him, helmet on and behind the wheel, or read a story or two of his exploits at the racetrack. Gee, didn’t he even make a movie or two about racing? On the other hand, Mazzuoli is one of the greats of Italian car racing from a few years back.
Every watch that bears the famous Mazzuoli mark is geared to racing. Each model seems to bear a fast and furious resemblance to tachometers on race cars. In 2008, the watchmaker premiered his newest model, the Contagiri, and dedicated the watch to Paul Newman. In awe of the great man, Mazzuoli was able to arrange a personal meeting between them and present his hero with the Contagiri watch.
They were a hit out of the gate and talked for hours. “His eyes lit up,” Giuliano Mazzuoli recalls, when Newman spoke of his Hole in the Wall Camps. No wonder, the “Hole in the Wall Camps”, named after the Hole in the Wall gang from Newman’s 1969 movie with Robert Redford, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, have touched the lives of nearly 115,000 children from over 30 countries. It is noted as the largest organisation of its type in the world. Parents will often describe the camp experience as magical for a seriously ill child.
From their talk, Newman suggested the idea of auctioning the Contagiri to benefit the camps. This sparked Mazzuoli to donate a total 25 of the luxurious watches to the auction, each personally signed by whom else, Paul Newman. More than any words could say, a single photograph of the two together captures what they shared.
