Designer Brand

In a press release received nineteen April, World famous from Venice Italy yacht designers Nuvolari Lenard have announced to enter super yacht building with there own brand.  Called the Nuvolari Lenard Yachts this new range is to be build in Turkey by Mengi-Yay and will feature four models from 47 to 65 meters. Two units of the smaller 47 meter S1 model are currently in build, with the second in size 52 meter 50 Plus model also starting construction.

Designer branding is not entirely new as in the past, in the late eighties to the nighties we have seen another Italian designer, Paolo Caliari do this, with his Caliari Yacht series launching an 80 model with a bigger thirty meter being in project which never materialized.  Caliari yacht was a company with Mochi as its main share holder, though all the four 80s made are reported to be made at Cantieri Navali Santa Margherita,

Both designers are among the most famous in the period they operated.  Paolo Caliari curriculum apart having a whose who list of yacht builders from the seventies and eighties, was a guaranteed success, and many of his designs for Mochi and Leopard are regarded timeless today and having shaped the yacht design of that present, and future.  The same can be said of Nuvolari Lenard, who burst in the scene in 1993 with the VZ 18, followed by the Sarnico 45 in 1995.  Nuvalari Lenard will then take design duties at Mochi the fall of 95, which will make them enter super yachting with the 25 Mega launched a year later and Palmer Johnson from 1998 onwards, which will make them design the 59 meter and the Sport series which debuted with the 105 in 2002.

But probably the most successful designer branding was Hunt Yachts, of credited deep Vee inventor Ray Hunt with the Bertram Moppie in 1960.  Founded in 1998 Hunt yachts was first a subsidiary of  C. Raymond Hunt design but in 2013 it was sold to Hinckley Group.  Another similar fate to Hunt was also made by Hargrave, another designer who is famous for his work for Bertram competitor Hatteras.  Hargrave was founded in 1997 but unlike Hunt has concentrated mostly in building super yachts above 24 meters in size.