It is a real world for the whole range of excellences on offer, for their spatial-temporal location, in a sort of house-museum open to the faithful.

It is the fruit of a tradition that is synonymous with impeccability and a perspective, given that, as Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev (the new director of GAM and the Castello di Rivoli) said "the future lies in being rooted in the territory". This is true for art, but also for high craftsmanship, which in its most enlightened and exclusive peaks becomes true creative expression.

ASTRUA TORINO - blurs the demarcation between inside and outside the Turin headquarters, allowing a glimpse of all the themes enclosed and creating a sort of whole between container and content while at the same time attempting to make the two identities and souls of Astrua collide: the direct relationship with the history of watchmaking and the innovation of high jewellery. A dialogic attempt oscillating between tradition and modernity, between ancient crafts and pushed technology.

Already the large windows framed by the brand's colours let the historical copper-coloured and bronze-coloured boxes open to reveal the famous brands for which Astrua is a faithful retailer and the jewellery, which has itself become an integral part of history, gradually expanding with the accessories for a truly luxurious lifestyle.

A landing place that aims at beauty, at tickling the five senses, far from mere representation. At first glance, it is an extraordinary mix of custom-made colours that can already be seen when entering the crystal compass with its evocative golden gear rotating underfoot. This is all it takes not to amaze, because that is the next step, but to cross the threshold of Astrua Torino, where the ritual of sitting on the sofa or in an armchair summarises the ancient symbolic-anthropological connotations of welcome. A luminous trail leads to the other spaces, where ample use is made of mirrors, understood in the precious meaning of typical Venetian art, while the carpeting envelops the step and the gold spatulate délabré-effect walls blend with the warm tobacco, cognac and ash tones enhanced by plays of light to enhance the stone columns and ancient ceilings.

A living room, we would venture, because extraordinarily alive, a celebration of work and luxury craftsmanship, as can also be seen on the floor below where the workbench by VALTER FRANCO RICCI, from which everything started, is jealously preserved.

Philological seriousness passes through history and radiates to the future also through new technologies. This is the case with the latest system for securing, sorting and proposing watches to the public with an ad hoc management system connected to a robotic warehouse capable of selecting the desired model and transporting it in a very short time, in the famous box that has been giving precious moments of happiness for no less than 156 years through nine turrets shielded by glass to match the environment. A functional and modern model that has aroused the curiosity and interest of the maison itself, continuing to intertwine Astrua's name with the world's most celebrated watchmakers.

Giulia Cassini