After going “watch-free” for most of the past decade, a number of style-conscious, male hipsters in their 30′s are discovering (or rediscovering) the allure of mechanical timepieces. The NY Times interviews three style influencers, and explains how mechanical wrist watches are tapping into the current trends favoring retro styles and heritage brands. In photo at left, Matthew Hranek, a New York photographer who runs a men’s lifestyle blog, the William Brown Project, sports a 1968 Rolex Submariner. The New York Times Jul. 6,2011
Gadget-Loving Gen X and Gen Y Types Discover Old-Fashioned Wrist Watches
Product Categories, Research, Trends, Forecasts, Watches
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Jul 072011
“Watch exports to Greece, Portugal and Spain all increased in May as part of a global rise of 40.1%, when adjusted for inflation, to 1.64 billion Swiss francs. In nominal terms, which are not adjusted for inflation, the increase was 31.6%, according to figures released Thursday by the Swiss customs office.” The ‘transportability’ and strong resale value of Swiss watches — particularly gold watches — have increased their appeal to European investors increasingly unnerved by the region’s struggling economy. The Wall Street Journal Jun. 24, 2011
Pamela McCoy is debuting her new fall apparel collection today on ShopNBC during a “Meet the Designers” event at 1 pm, and 5 pm ET. (She has already made three TV appearances — at 12 a.m., 4 a.m., 8 a.m. ET — and a webcast appearance at 1 a.m. ET.) In an announcedment, the network explained that the event “focuses on the designers behind the collections, and will feature the return of Omar Torres jewelry, plus new arrivals from Anuschka Handbags, Christian Audigier Watches and Gems en Vogue II.” Details on new items from The Pamela McCoy Collection appear after the jump. Continue reading »
Apr 212010
Here is a “Jump-on-the-green-bandwagon” product that the shopping networks seem to be passing over — wristwaches constructed from at least 86 percent sustainable materials, such as corn resin cases and casebacks, certified organic cotton straps, natural bamboo dials and mineral crystals. Sprout Watches are manufactured by the E. Gluck Corporation and — according to their website — are currently available at Kmart, Kohl’s, Sears and Amazon.com. The watches are priced at about $30.00. Triplepundit.com Apr. 21, 2010
Temple has been selling on the DRTV networks for some 25 years, making a specialty of timepieces since 1992. National Jeweler July 6, 2009
Feb 252009
French jeweler Cartier has filed suit against QVC Inc. and two of its watch suppliers, JMAM LLC (dba. Joan Rivers Worldwide Enterprises) and TWI Watches LLC, alleging that some of the watches the defendents have sold infringe on several Cartier designs. JCK Online Feb. 25, 2009
Feb 052009
Swiss watch exports turned in another banner year in 2008, despite ending on a downcast note that is carrying over into this year, of course. “Watch exports increased 6.7 percent in value (export price) to 17 billion Swiss francs (almost $14.6 billion), the fifth year they’ve topped prior year results. In terms of units, however, total exports barely finished ahead of 2007, increasing just 0.8 percent to 26.2 million watches (a gain of only 210,000 units).” JCK Online Feb. 5, 2009
Orient Watches Premiere on ShopNBC
DRTV Retailer, Watches
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Nov 242008
Orient Watches, Japan’s largest maker of mechanical watches, made its U.S. TV shopping premiere, November 17th on ShopNBC. Orient entered the U.S. market earlier this year. JCK Online Nov. 24, 2008
Luxury Retailers See Leaner Times Ahead
Apparel, Jewelry (fine), Research, Trends, Forecasts, Watches
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Oct 102008
For many of the world’s best-known luxury brands — jewelry makers, watch makers and high-end fashion houses — these have been very good times. Any softness in sales in the U.S., Europe and Japan has been more than made up for by emerging markets like China and Russia. But they think that’s going to change and they’re starting to retrench. The Wall Street Journal Oct. 8, 2008 Paid subscription may be required.
Luxury Watches and Jewelry Drive 4.5% YTD Revenue Growth for LVMH
Jewelry (fine), Suppliers, Watches
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Oct 092008
Watches and jewelry sales grew 11 percent to 656 million euros ($894.4 million) for the first nine months of 2008, year-over-year, the strongest category for luxury goods conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. TAG Heuer and Hublot turned in particularly strong performances. JCK Online Oct. 9, 2008
