Are you fascinated in watches? If you like them, you might care about well – known watches brands in the world. Here is the great place for you to know more about them.
Reflecting the strength of the dollar and the Dow as well as ongoing uneasiness about Asia, the American market became the benefactor of increased attention from fine watch and jewelry firms as they presented their collections of men watches at three trade shows in Switzerland.
While U.S. business for these firms has been gaining in importance for a long time, the historically conservative Swiss watch industry was ready to devote more time and merchandise to the U.S. than ever.
Some Thing about Well-known Brands of Offering Watches
While retailers generally said there wasn’t much that was dramatically new, there were broader and better-rounded jewelry collections and an injection of fashion from even the stodgiest and most exclusive watch firms.It was as if collectively, the watch industry in particular had finally decided to seduce Americans into stores, first with unusual and colorful product, and then teach them the endless technical attributes of Swiss watches.
- Many U.S. retailers began their sojourn in Geneva, where they saw 10 luxury names seven from the Vendome Luxury Group at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie. The buyers also saw three collections at the premiere edition of the World Presentation of Haute Horlogerie in nearby Genthod. Most then moved on to Basel ’98, the behemoth of all watch and clock trade shows.Regardless of the venue, store owners spent long, hectic days viewing watch and jewelry collections.They were also entertained day and night via seemingly endless breakfasts, cocktail parties and dinners, and even by some of the hype typically reserved for the flashier fashion industry.
- In Geneva, Cartier launched Panerai, a line ofoversized sport watches originally designed exclusively for Italian Navy Commandos. Cartier purchased the name last year and will market the watches.
- With the fake bow of a ship extending out of its salon, water running beneath it and nautically dressed cabin boys to greet guests, Baume & Mercier generated a lot of excitement with its new adventure sport watch called Capeland, even though it may not reach the U.S. in time for Christmas.
- In Basel, Gucci designer Tom Ford turned up unexpectedly to give the once-over to his company’s new booth, but it was Bulgari that took the prize for the most-sought-after invitation.
- The Italian firm piled about 500 people into vans and shuttled them to a hangar in the Basel airport, where they were coddled with champagne and hors d’oeuvres until Chairman Paolo Bulgari signaled for the doors of the hangar to open. Spotlighted on the dark, wet tarmac was an Alitalia Boeing 747 painted silvery gray, its fuselage adorned by the face of Aluminium, Bulgari’s latest watch.
Remarkable Design Style of Watches
The design will remain in place for a year as the jet flies between points in Italy, the U.S., South America and the Far East.But beyond all the hoopla, when retailers sat down to preview merchandise, there was enough fashion to sufficiently attract even the most trend-hungry American consumer. Among the prevailing themes:
- White metals: The look has picked up speed and is now an overwhelming trend, available at any price point and level of fashion.
- From stainless steel to sterling silver to white gold or platinum, white continues to be hot for day or evening and is usually paired with diamonds from the slightest of accents to pieces completely paved.
- Pearls: A strong category being driven by the demand for South Sea and Tahitian varieties. Although white remains popular, gray and pink hues are also strong, especially when paired with diamonds.
- Fancy diamonds: Particularly yellow and pink, to offset or add to all those white metals.
- Colored stones: Often in tonal mixes, with tanzanite, Burmese rubies, aquamarine, citrine, iolite, lapis, chalcedony, turquoise and coral leading the way.
- Mother-of-pearl dials on watches, best in pastel pink, yellow or baby blue, with matching straps ranging from shiny patent to matte crocodile.
- Black, chocolate brown or deep burgundy watch dials.
- Oval or tank-shaped watches that impart either a feminine or retro feel.
- While large sport looks continue, smaller, thinner and more refined watches are making a comeback.
- High tech materials from Titanium and carbon fibers to Kevlar and rubber were seen at every price point.
Some Review of Brands Representative
“Our watch business has registered high-double-digit gains in each of the last couple of years,” said Jennifer Haltzer, fine watch buyer at Saks Fifth Avenue. “We are trading up to the next price points.”She zeroed in on some of the best fashion looks. Among them, Hermes’s “H” watch in steel with diamonds, Chaumet’s steel watches with pastel, mother-of-pearl dials and diamond bezels, Cartier’s smaller, 32-millimeter Pasha Watch, Baume & Mercier’s Catwalk watch and Gucci’s cuff watch, dubbed the “slave bracelet.”
Donald Levinson, president of Chicago’s Trabert & Hoeffer, found ample places to spend money. “In some brands, we bought four times what we had planned on,” Levinson said. “Business is extremely strong now, and that impacted our buying. When the product is special, you buy.
“Cartier’s smaller Pasha will be very strong, as will the modifications of the Tank Francais and American Tank watches. The diamond heart watches from Piaget and variations on its Protocole line also looked good, as did Franck Muller’s new Conquistador model and the ladies’ pieces. We could have technically gone home after Geneva, based on the amount of money we spent.”
Instead, he pressed on to Basel, where he said cherry-picking was the name of the game. Candy Udell, co-president of New York-based London Jewelers, said it was the mix that helped her home in on some special jewelry looks this year. “I didn’t see anything that was spectacularly new, but I felt there was great jewelry in well-made and new, yet classic combinations,” Udell said.She was happy to see new interpretations with colored stones, such as citrine, peridotite or iolite, paired with hot white metals and diamonds in geometric shapes or cabochon styles.
