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Born in Italy, Designed in France
Born in 1903, Philippe Gaso's grandfather opened his watch store, named
Genova Tecnica Orologi, in Genoa in 1930. Its main activity consisted in selling
and repairing the first waterproof wristwatches endowed with automatic
movement, which was truly significant and unusual at the time.
His passion for the precision mechanics and especially his pleasure to work
on the first complication models enable the store to develop high end
demanding customer base used to high quality products and service.
Philippe Gaso's mother was born in 1936 and lived her entire childhood by
the rhythm of the family store's clocks.
Mussolini was coming to power in Italy and his actions and political choices
plunged the country into war and a deep economic crisis. His grandfather
opposed the new regime and joined the resistance movement, forcing his
family to take care of the shop without him. When the situation became
critical, they decided to exile themselves to Algeria to avoid Mussolini's fascist
regime. This land of refuge, though chosen by many Italians, forced them to
start all over again.
Due to this development, Philippe Gaso was born in Algiers in 1961. But history
repeats itself as Algeria is thrown into the turmoil of war and the family must
give up everything once again and go into exile, but this time in France
where they arrive in 1962.
Fascinated from an early age by the micromechanics and the precision
models, Philippe Gaso becomes very quickly interested in electronics and
watch-making to do his business.
In 1983, at the age of 22, Philippe Gaso creates his own company:
the group Flip Technology specialized in on-board instrumentation for motor
vehicles.
An amateur racing driver his entire life, he finally decided to create his own
timepieces, carrying his new GTO brand; a symbol of style, designed with
passion.
GTO’s three letters then became the symbol of tradition, a tribute to his
grandfather.
Focused on specific functions, the GTO watches are specifically fitted for
sports and able to support amateurs and professionals in time management.
Designed in France, the GTO watches are inspired by a line of legendary cars
and are now an essential tool for drivers and car enthusiasts.
Much more than simple accessories, GTO’s models represent a state of mind,
a way of life.
In the 80’s, Philippe Gaso, an electronics engineer by trade, creates the
group Flip Technology specialized in the conception and the repair of onboard
instrumentation for motor vehicles.
At this time, conventional clocks such as gears, teeth, hands and so on only
composed the instrumentation.
The path of Flip Technology can be linked to a renowned brand in the Swiss
watch-making industry, which had created a meters and instrumentation
department for motor vehicles.
Flip Technology has now more than 30 years of experience in the field of onboard
instrumentation. Its founder, Philippe Gaso, fascinated by car-racing
and technical watches, decided to set up his own timepieces by creating
the GTO watch-making division.
This new division benefits from the experience.