Gagà Laboratorio is a name still new to collectors, but in just one year, it has attracted attention with the Labormatic, a model that has already appeared in four distinct editions — Bauhaus, Cinquanta, Champagne and Azzurro.

The brand was founded by Ruben Tomella, who originally made his mark in 2004 with Gagà Milano, a company known for its flamboyant, oversized designs. With Gagà Laboratorio, Tomella wanted to take the same spirit of individuality into a more horologically serious arena. To bring that vision to life, he turned to Mo Coppoletta, a London-based Italian designer best known for his work as a tattoo artist but also respected for his wider design practice, where cultural references and storytelling are central.

Ruben Tomella, Gagá Milano Founder & CEO (Image: @73rubensito)

To give the project structure and commercial direction, Fabio Ferrari joined as Brand Manager, responsible for shaping the strategy, communications and market presence of the brand. Together, the three form the driving force behind a young company that sees itself not as tied to tradition or chasing extremes, but as a creative laboratory within contemporary Swiss watchmaking.

Fabio Ferrari, Brand Manager of Gagá Milano

What did you, Ruben and Mo want to achieve with Gagà Laboratorio that couldn’t be done with Gagà Milano?

Gagà Lab was born from the desire of Ruben Tomella to reinterpret Gagà in a modern way. If we go back to 2004, when Ruben launched Gagà Milano, he was just over 30 and wanted to create a watch that broke the rules — something that truly stood out on the wrist, just like the Italian term gagà suggests: a dandy, someone who dares to be different.

Today, Ruben is 20 years older. He is still a dandy, but in a different way. That’s why, in 2020, when he began to conceive Gagà Lab, he imagined a watch that could still break conventions, but from a new perspective. The partnership with Mo Coppoletta came almost naturally. Mo himself embodies the spirit of a true gagà, and when Ruben decided to enter the world of haute horlogerie, collaborating with him felt authentic and inevitable.

Mo Coppoletta (Image: Anna Michell/The Family Business)

How did the three of you divide your roles in the early days, and how has that dynamic evolved? 

This is a very interesting question, because exactly one year after the launch of the first Gagà Lab model, the evolution of the organization has been incredible, but the roles have always been crystal clear.

Mo is the man behind the product and the artistic direction, Ruben is in charge of bringing the product to life together with our suppliers, and I handle all the marketing side, both commercial and communication. Today, we are a team of around 10 people in total, working alongside external collaborators who are gradually joining the project and bringing great value across all departments.

All of this, of course, is under Ruben’s leadership. He has truly been the driving force behind the project: in less than a year, he managed to build a young team of people who didn’t even know each other before. To give you an idea, before May 2024, I had never actually met Mo Coppoletta — I only knew him by reputation. But since then, not only have we been working together on Gagà Lab, I also became General Manager of his studio, Coppoletta Designs, in March 2025.

Was there a “light bulb moment” where the Labormatic concept came together? 

I don’t believe there was a specific moment of “enlightenment,” but rather a journey that gradually led us to the result we achieved. The design process itself took two years and was the result of continuous refinements and improvements along the way.

The starting point was the Gagà DNA, which was the fundamental element Ruben asked Mo to preserve. Ruben’s main request was to design a watch that reflected the Gagà identity — meaning the crown at 12 o’clock and the prominent lugs that make it instantly recognizable.

From there, Mo began his creative journey developing design solutions that would make the watch appear complex, even without mechanical complications, purely through innovative design.

The Labormatic’s bold lugs are part of the Gagà DNA Ruben asked Mo Coppoletta to preserve, making the watch instantly recognizable

The result is a watch that can be appreciated by everyone — collectors first and foremost — for its boldness in design, yet it is accessible to all thanks to the fact that we managed to keep the price at a reasonable level.

Mo is often described as bringing cultural and artistic references into the watches. From your perspective, what’s the most surprising influence that’s made it into a design?

Well, this is not only an interesting question, but also a very difficult one!

You see, references in Mo’s creations are practically everywhere. In the case of the four Labormatic versions, let’s start with the colors. Cinquanta and Azzurro draw inspiration from the color palette of Italian objects from the postwar period. It may seem like a casual reference, but in reality, there was a very deliberate choice to take inspiration from this world, which is deeply tied to the Gagà DNA.

Those were the years when people were rediscovering life, returning to normalcy after a war that had devastated the continent; the years in which, in Italy, the dandy spirit thrived and became a global icon (think of Gianni Agnelli). This is precisely why Mo chose that historical period as his source of inspiration: the golden age of the Italian gagà. Objects from that era became the driving force behind his choice of colors.

For the models presented in June, Azzurro and Champagne, the specific choice of these colors was also inspired by two Italian songs from that period, which accompanied the summer evenings of young people at the time: “Azzurro” by Celentano and “Champagne” by Peppino di Capri.

The inspiration behind the Labormatic Azzurro’s name — Adriano Celentano’s iconic ‘Azzurro,’ a symbol of carefree Italian summers.

Another key element is the fonts. Mo has a background rooted in the world of tattooing — another cultural universe entirely — so the stroke, the line, is extremely important to him. Just look at the fonts used in the Cinquanta: he managed to bring a touch of understated extravagance through something as simple as a typeface.

So, in summary, we have cultural references tied to the Gagà brand DNA, color-related cultural references in the choice of color types, musical references in the selection of color variations and tattoo-background references in the creation of the fonts. I would say that this is quite impressive!

Details that tell a story: the Cinquanta’s bespoke font and layered dial bring Gagà’s dandy spirit to life

The new Champagne and Azzurro have different displays for the minutes — how deliberate was it to let each model “speak” for itself? 

The Champagne and Azzurro models join the first two versions, Bauhaus and Cinquanta, which already featured different ways of indicating the minutes — Bauhaus with a minimalist approach inspired by its design movement, and Cinquanta with the font described earlier, giving the watch a touch of elegant boldness and creativity.

In the case of Azzurro, Mo wanted to introduce a second model following the same stylistic lines as Cinquanta, continuing along the same design thread. For Champagne, however, he took the opposite approach: instead of complementing Bauhaus with a color that followed the same stylistic line, he chose its contrast. The sobriety and minimalism of Bauhaus are thus counterbalanced by the sparkling character of Champagne, as seen in the dial pattern, which subtly replicates the bubbles inspired by champagne.

The Labormatic is unusual, but still very wearable. Was that balance a conscious goal from the start?

Absolutely, yes. During the first creative briefing, Ruben set three conditions for Mo: The first was to respect the Gagà DNA; the second was to design a watch that could be loved and appreciated by collectors, while at the same time remaining affordable for everyone; and finally, to use design solutions that would make the watch appear to have complications, even though mechanically it did not — achieving the effect purely through design.

These three conditions combined meant that the watch could never be “simple.” The result had to be a timepiece that was extremely bold, yet at the same time appealing to anyone who saw it. This is precisely one of the points where Gagà Lab diverges from Gagà Milano.

What do you hope someone feels when they put on a Labormatic for the first time?

The feedback we’ve had from most people is mainly twofold: a product with a “unique” design that, especially young collectors, describe as “cool,” [and one in which] the perceived value is higher than the actual price of the product, which is a significant strength.

These two pieces of feedback are exactly what we hope to hear in the future. Of course, a watch may or may not appeal to everyone, but knowing that it is perceived as “unique” and that its perceived value is high provides the foundation for building the future.

The Labormatic Azzurro on the wrist

Do you see the Labormatic as a single platform for multiple interpretations (like Bauhaus, Cinquanta, Champagne and Azzurro), or will the brand explore completely new designs?

The Labormatic is the first model of Gagà Lab, but it won’t be the last. We are already working on two other models, although it’s still too early to talk about them. The Labormatic will certainly remain in the collection for a long time, and over the years, new versions will be introduced while some of the existing ones may be replaced — but this line will definitely endure over time.

Independent brands often either lean on heritage or go extreme in experimentation. Where do you see Gagà Laboratorio sitting between those poles?

Well, we see Gagà Laboratorio (or simply Lab) as a Creative Laboratory, capable of producing watches with a unique yet contemporary design — not extreme, nor tied to a specific heritage.

I would say that this gives us a positioning that stands on its own, relative to the trends we are seeing in this historical period.

Who is the Gagà customer, in your eyes? A traditional collector, a design aficionado or someone new to watches?

Currently, our typical customer is the collector — whether it’s their 100th watch or their very first. It is someone who appreciates the uniqueness of the product.

How do you see Gagà Laboratorio’s relationship to Swiss watchmaking traditions? Are you working within them, against them or beside them?

The correct answer is the first one: together. Our watches are crafted following the Swiss watchmaking tradition and feature Swiss movements. We believe that the combination of Italian creativity with Swiss watchmaking expertise is the winning formula, allowing us to offer a product of the highest quality with a touch of uniqueness.

What does success look like for the brand over the next five years?

Nowadays, there is a huge offering in the world when it comes to Swiss watches in general, so it is important to know what you are doing and where you are going. Our main goal is to pursue organic growth driven by an increase in demand. The flexibility of our organization allows us to scale production up or down according to demand without too many constraints.

For this reason, our work focuses on making the product known to more and more people through strong communication efforts and, a key point of our strategy, through collaborations with retail partners around the world.

What excites you most about your forthcoming limited edition release, and what story will it tell?

At the moment, we can’t reveal much, except that it will be something “wow”! It’s a piece that offers collectors something truly unique and memorable. Stay tuned!

A glimpse of what’s next: Gagà Laboratorio teases its upcoming release

What do you think Italian design brings to watchmaking that is absent from all other timelines?

Today, the major watch brands mostly make small, incremental improvements to existing models, relying on their established reputation rather than true innovation. Independent or emerging brands typically go to extremes: they either lean heavily on heritage or push for radical, futuristic designs.

This leaves a real space for creativity, and this is where Italian design becomes a true added value. Its unique sense of style, elegance and originality can bring a fresh perspective to watchmaking, especially when combined with Swiss technical expertise. At Gagà Lab, we aim to fill this creative space, offering collectors watches that are both visually distinctive and deeply rooted in the spirit of Italian design.

Gagà Laboratorio’s next Labormatic launch drops on 23 September 2025.