RAPAPORT... Despite the fact that the traffic in the watch halls at the JCK Las Vegas show seemed a little slower, time ticked on and the watch vendors say they did business. The same was true of the watch suites and the Couture show at the Wynn.
Of particular interest this year: diamond watches. In fact, most brands said they are selling diamond watches in all price points — from the fashion brands to the luxury brands.
DIAMONDS AT A PRICEVivian Bernstein, vice president of marketing for Cuervo y Sobrinos, said, “Even though attendance seemed slow, business was definitely good, and our retailers continued to buy, especially our Prominente line’s Classico model.” In fact, the Prominente line is the sort of diamond watch that many jewelers are stocking — timelessly elegant, accented by a single or double row of full-cut brilliants and priced right. The line features steel, rectangular, curved cases with pastel-colored dials and matching straps — and bezels set with either 1.30 or 0.65 carats of Top Wesselton diamonds. Retail prices are $4,900 or $6,900 so they don’t break the bank, but one gets a lot of look for the price.
“The JCK show always comes up so quickly after BaselWorld. Both exhibitions were more than great for us this year, and the reaction to our newest releases was awesome,” said Anto G., chief executive officer (CEO) of The Giantto Group.
“Las Vegas is always fun — we announced our new cover girl Joanna Krupa this year, threw a huge party and made some very solid connections between our Von Dutch watch collection and the exclusive Giantto timepiece brands. Staying totally out of the box and keeping things completely original is what we do best, and Vegas is the perfect place to do that.”
Giantto unveiled a host of diamond watches, including black and white diamond pieces in its Tuxedo collection, yellow diamond watches and chocolate diamond watches. The company was not alone on the colored diamond front, as Le Vian, de Grisogono and Buccellati all released stunning multicolored diamond timepieces. Buccellati’s floral watches with multicolored diamonds — shaped as daisies, zinnias, dahlias and camellias — offer intriguing bouquets for the wrist, but only in very exclusive numbers. Buccellati creates just 1,200 watches per year for worldwide distribution.
EXCLUSIVESMaurice Lacroix offered a few watch families containing diamonds at the show, including the intriguing Limited Edition Starside Sparkling Date, part of the newly launched ladies mechanical line. The trend toward mechanical complications for women is strong and adding a touch of diamonds to them is only natural.
Additionally, men are looking more for diamond watches, too, especially at the ultra-high end.According to Lisa Roman, marketing director of Breitling USA, “There was definitely more interest in the diamond pieces, like the Bentley with date and subseconds hand. The higher-end market is still strong and the retailers were looking for special pieces that would set them apart.”
A noteworthy diamond watch newcomer is Dunamis, which unveiled a line of Swiss-made luxury watches by jeweler Jason of Beverly Hills. The collections include Spartan, designed with diamonds floating in liquid across the dial, and Hubris, with a model that has diamonds floating in the bracelet.
Jewelry designer Michael Beaudry has released the Beaudry Time series of Swiss-made watches, crafted in gold and palladium and limited to 24 watches of each design. Each diamond on the exclusive watches will be selected using the Beaudry 24-Point Standard of Perfection, which all laser-inscribed Beaudry diamonds must pass. Among the initial six watch models being launched, two feature pink diamonds.
Also of particular note is the new Prismatic collection of digital diamond watches by jewelry designer Christian Tse. These are totally gem-set, with the entire watch case and dial set with diamonds and gemstones. One simply pushes the diamond crown and the LED readout of time appears behind the specially set stones. The designs are all unique, as they are individually set — with leopard prints, florals, geometrics and more. The concept required reworking the LED with larger lights and a different type of stone setting, explained Tse, so that the lit numbers would be visible through the setting.
“It was a great project for me,” said Tse. “As a designer, it is my goal to always be coming up with something new and fresh, and I thought this would be great. It wasn’t enough, though, to have one or two models — I needed to tell a whole story.”
That “whole story” is told in approximately 30 different Prismatic timepieces, each sold in a box that, when the watch pillow is removed, serves as a jewelry box. From conception to fruition, Tse’s watch line took just 18 months to bring to market. It is just one demonstration of the creativity abounding in diamond watches in today’s market.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - July 2008. To subscribe click here.