SJX Watches
Book Review: ‘Universal People Universal Dreams’
Universal People Universal Dreams is a large-format book that explores, in great detail, a collection of 111 Universal Genève chronographs, and only chronographs. The 384-page book is also a record of the collecting journey of its author, Luca Mignini, who reflects on the lessons learnt and people encountered in his pursuit of watches across the world. A longtime watch collector who is now a professor at Milan’s Bocconi University, Mr Mignini had a long career in the consumer goods industry, culminating in a spell as chief operating officer at Campbell’s, the American food giant famous for its canned soups, after which he retired in 2019. The globe-crossing nature of his career took him from his homeland of Italy to Shanghai and New Jersey, giving him the opportunity to collect internationally, a phenomenon that professionals who travel extensively for work will find familiar. Having been interested in watches since he was a teenager, Mr Mignini made his way through the usual suspects like Rolex and Patek Philippe, before landing on Universal Genève during a trip to Tokyo in 2010. In the time since, he has accumulated the impressive collection of Universal Genève detailed in this book. I met Mr Mignini last year in Geneva and he is clearly obsessed with Universal Genève. His tremendous passion for the brand makes it almost a given Universal People Universal Dreams will be laser focused on Universal chronographs yet exceptionally wide in scope within the narrow s...
