Severin Montres, the company that held the Gucci license, was bought back by Gucci for $150 million as part of Domenico De Sole and Tom Ford's decision to wield more direct control over the brand's various products.

The deal stipulated a two-year non-compete clause for Wunderman.

But he couldn't stay away from his passion. As soon as the non-compete clause expired in January 2000, Wunderman bought the majority of Corum. He moved the brand into more accessible price ranges but also reinforced the high end with pieces like the Golden Bridge. When he bought Corum sales were only $30 million. Sales last year were close to $200 million.

A visit to the yearly watch fair in Basel, Switzerland, was incomplete without a visit to Wunderman. His passion for the industry never diminished. A seasoned raconteur, he was one of the few independent voices in an industry increasingly dominated by large luxury players, a position he loved.

Just last month Wunderman was thinking about the future, saying he had no interest in selling his brand.

"Only if I got a crazy offer," he said in an e-mail exchange. "Everything has a price. But under normal circumstances, no. It's three years too early for us to sell. I would be leaving big money on the table."

Michael Wunderman, 33, Severin Wunderman's son who is Corum's president, has taken on a more important role at the brand in recent years. After seven years in Europe, Michael moved back to California to manage the brand there and be closer to his family.

Watches were hardly the only component to Wunderman's life. He was on the board of Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation and France awarded Wunderman the Legion of Honor two years ago for his extensive charity work.

Wunderman was an avid collector of art, with a particular passion for Cocteau, the French artist, writer and filmmaker. Wunderman recently donated hundreds of pieces by Cocteau to a museum that is slated to open in the French Riviera town of Menton in 2009.

Wunderman is survived by another son, Nathan, as well as daughters Raphael and Deborah.