The Italian businessman does not need an introduction in the watch world. His legendary collection of timepieces, worth one billion euros, can fill up dozens of museums. But, for Fratini, it is all very personal. “You don’t show off true love. I share a love story with my watches and that’s why I don’t wear them. I never brag about my lady or my watches,” says Fratini, pointing to a bright pink plastic watch strapped on his wrist. “So this is what you would mostly see me wearing. It’s a fun watch I made for my hotel L’Orologio.”

Fratini first set his eyes on a wristwatch at the age of eight—a Longines that his father bought him for his First Communion. “I was fascinated by the movement of that watch. It was not anything fancy, but [it was] very special to me. Then my grandmother also indulged me with some watches,” he says. By the time he turned 20, Fratini was madly in love with watches and started buying from Patek Philippe, Rolex, Cartier and Vacheron Constantin. “Watch collecting wasn’t fashionable then, so it was easier to find unique pieces. While I was losing my mind over old, mechanical watches, everyone else was going for quartz watches,” he says. “My hunt took me to different corners of the world and led to some unforgettable discoveries. On one such trail I found a rare Patek Philippe chronograph with a pink dial in an old cookie box. The owner of the watch, a widow in one of Italy’s small town, Lavana, had no clue what she had in her kitchen!”

In the past several decades, Fratini has never had a dull moment in his passionate affair with watches. Right from dials to movements, he has been enriching his treasure trove with mechanical wonders from across the globe. “Whenever I’m travelling and have some free time in Brazil, Hong Kong or the US, I venture out to look for watches that would speak to me. I’m not a collector, I’m a lover of watches,” he says.

Watch collecting in today’s age is not just an indulgence; most people invest in vintage watches and sell-off or trade their timepieces for something else on their wish list. Fratini, however, has never sold any of his timepieces. “I have never considered watches an investment. They have a soul and I feel a connection with each piece in my collection. I go for all kinds of brands, perhaps less famous than Rolex and Patek, but I love them equally,” he says. 

Maybe this explains why you wouldn’t see a lot of Daytonas in Fratini’s book My Time, published in association with Christie’s last year. A beautifully curated anthology of more than a quarter of Fratini’s huge collection, the book gives a peek into previously unseen references from various brands. As expected of Fratini, the selection of watches in the book was not based on the most valuable pieces, but the ones that are closest to his heart. “The Rolex Daytona is a rage nowadays, but I was obsessed with other models of the brand. So, in my book, some of the watches have their own page, or pages, but the Rolex Daytona in 50 different variants is illustrated over just two pages,” he says.

While the cover of My Time features the unique Patek Philippe Ref. 1415 HU, a very few of which were made between 1939 and 1954, the inside pages give a glimpse of exceptional timepieces like the Patek Philippe 1518 and the beautiful Reference 130, which are Fratini’s favourites. “I love every watch in that book, but if I had to choose one, I would say it’s the round Patek Philippe in yellow gold with a black dial, made for [the Caracas retailer] Serpico y Laino in the 1940s. It is my favourite because I have not seen anything as spectacular as this watch,” he says.

Introduced in 1941, the Patek Philippe 1518 was the world’s first perpetual calendar with a chronograph and is a dream watch for collectors. Only 281 pieces were made in different metals, mostly yellow gold, and the most desirable are the four models in steel. In 2016, the Phillips auction house sold a steel version of the 1518 for more than $10 million. It is believed that king Michael of Romania was a proud owner of one of these pieces and now Fratini owns two.

Around 650 timepieces from Fratini’s collection have been illustrated against blue denim backgrounds in My Time, which is a tribute to Fratini’s family enterprise—the Rifle jeans brand founded by his father in Tuscany in 1958. “Most people today want watches in mint condition, but I like watches that show the signs of the times. The watches I love are at least 50 years old. The look of the dial is the most important thing for me, as it mirrors a vintage watch’s life,” says Fratini. Talking of stunning dials, My Time also features an extremely fine and important yellow-gold Patek Philippe (reference 2481) with a cloisonné enamel dial and a Gay Frères bracelet. Made in 1951, the watch depicts a tropical setting with palm trees and has applied gold Roman numerals and dot indexes.

As a tribute to his greatest passion, Fratini has also developed a chain of hotels modelled on the theme of horology. Fitted with bathroom taps in the shape of winding crowns and luxurious rooms adorned with huge reproductions of famous watch models, Fratini’s Hotel L’Orologio is known for its gorgeous locations in Venice and Florence. “We started this hotel chain 11 years ago. It was my wife’s idea. Each room in the hotel is modelled on my favourite watch collection. We pay a lot of attention to detail and service in our hotel,” he says.

Apart from watches, Fratini is a huge fan of football and loves playing it with his son, Giulio. “Both of us are crazy about watches and football. My son also goes after brands that speak to him, for instance Eberhard & Co,” he says.

Among the younger brands, Fratini finds Antoine Preziuso’s watches really interesting. “He makes everything with love, just like me. I have always been fascinated by Gerald Genta. He was a genius. Among the new Royal Oaks from Audemars Piguet, I like the pink-gold perpetual calendar the most.”

So, what is still missing in Fratini’s collection? “Maybe some more vintage watches that I haven’t discovered yet and would define my being in the years to come,” he says. “I will continue to follow my sentiment.”