SimplyAbuDhabi X

9 3 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I five centuries of mechanical tradition, five centuries of continuous improvements, which can only be honoured by going beyond old standards and stretching the limits of creativity. We wanted to be open to time, and in order to achieve that, we had to free the watches!” Fawaz Gruosi, the president and founder of de Grisogono, was perhaps always destined to become a creator of desirable products as he always had a passion for beauty and art. He left school in his hometown of Florence, Italy, and trained as a sales assistant with a famous Florentine jeweller. Seven years later at the age of 25 the jeweller asked Gruosi to oversee the opening of a new store in London as a consultant to the firm, a position that quickly saw him evolve into store manager for a period of four years. At age 30, Gruosi was noticed by the Alizera family, official agent to Harry Winston, who offered him the position of representative in Saudi Arabia. Enterprising and dynamic, Gruosi agreed to take up the challenge. After three years, he returned to Europe, where he was immediately contacted by the Bulgari company. Gianni Bulgari, a cult name in the world of jewellery, created a new position for Gruosi within Bulgari Precious Trading, the jeweller putting his complete trust in the young man. Gruosi thus became the first within the group