Market Report

Dubai accounts for 30% Middle East Luxury Market

Dubai is increasingly attracting more luxury shoppers from around the world and accounts for 30 per cent of the luxury market in the Middle East region, the latest report by Bain & Company said. The city also commands around 60 per cent of the UAE’s luxury market. Among the shopping centres across the emirate, Dubai Mall accounts for around half of luxury purchases made in Dubai. The revenues of worldwide luxury goods market are forecast to grow as much as 50 per cent faster than the global GDP, achieving a four to five per cent growth in 2013 and five to six per cent annual average through 2015.

Market News

DMCC plans to build world's tallest commercial tower in Dubai

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, executive chairman of DMCC. The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre has announced plans to build the tallest commercial tower in the world as part of its expansion plans. The government-backed authority dedicated to establishing Dubai as the global gateway for commodity trade said the tower aims to accommodate large corporations and multi-nationals looking for significant office space.

Company News

Qatar- backed Louis Vuitton acquires Loro Piana for $2.57bn

Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, the French luxury goods conglomerate part owned by Qatar, has acquired 80 percent of Italian luxury cashmere clothing brand Loro Piana for 2 billion euros ($2.57bn), boosting the firm’s presence in high-end handcrafted products popular with Asian buyers. The deal gives Loro Piana an enterprise value of 2.7 billion euros, or more than 3.8 times the company's expected 2013 sales of 700 million euros. Loro Piana, which is also an integrated manufacturer of fine yarns, has been enjoying average annual sales growth of 17 percent over the past three years. LVMH said it planned to expand the Italian brand's leather goods offering as well as its footprint worldwide. Loro Piana gets 85 percent of its revenue from its 185 directly operated stores and shop-in-shops.

Bremont won “Luxury Watch Brand of the Year” and “Store Design of the Year” at UK Jewellery Awards

Bremont Watch Company won ‘Luxury Watch Brand of the Year’ for the second year running as well as winning 'Store Design of the year' at the 2013 UK Jewellery Awards which took place for the first time at The Natural History Museum and was hosted by Dawn Porter. The award recognises the considerable success that Bremont has achieved since its launch in 2007; it celebrates the brands well-manufacture product, pioneering marketing and point-of-sale support, strong commercial appeal and strong design principles.

Carrera y Carrera opened new boutique in Beijing

Carrera y Carrera opened a new boutique in Beijing; Carrera y Carrera crosses borders again, this time to bring its exclusive pieces to China, with its new boutique in the capital of the People’s Republic of China, the Spanish brand further progresses its global expansion plan, being present in more than 40 countries.

Montegrappa won Three Pen World Annual Readers' Choice Awards

Montegrappa won three awards in Pen World’s Nineteenth Annual Readers’ Choice Awards competition chosen by the very readers who represent the pinnacle of passion for fine writing implements. The Brain Pen received two awards for Best Metal Mastery and Best Interpretation of a Theme. The Alchemist is the winner of the award for the Best Cultural Theme, for a subject inspired by a cultural or literary event.

Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge Mediterranean Circuit

The 14th edition of the Argentario Sailing Week, the second round on the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge Mediterranean Circuit, drew to a hugely successful conclusion last month. A total of 42 yachts hailing from six different nations (France, Germany, Spain, Great Britain, the United States and Italy) competed in three races on triangle courses in consistently calm waters with sunny summery weather and breezes of 6 to 10 knots. The overall winners in the four main categories were the 1928 Cambria in the Big Boat, the 1915 Q-Class Leonore in the Vintage, the 1971 sloop Sagittarius in the Classic, doubling up on her win at the first round at Antibes, and, lastly, the little seven-metre gaff cutter, Wianno, in the Spirit of Tradition.

The Cuervo y Sobrinos Cup 2013 with Majestic Alpine Sceneries

The charme of classic regularity among hairpin bends, landscapes and passion. The first edition of the Cuervo y Sobrinos Cup has come to an end: a regularity rally organised by Scuderia Tricolore of Reggio Emilia and reserved to classic cars built until 1969. There were 60 crews at the start, mostly foreign. The rally has ended with the victory of the crew number 1 Mozzi-Biacca on their 1955 Triumph TR 2, followed by Gamberini-Fabbri on a 1956 Alfa Romeo Giulietta and Massara-Schira on a 1966 Lancia Fulvia HF 12.

Jaeger-LeCoultre supported UNESCO's Tides of Time partnership

The Jaeger-LeCoultre signed the Tides of Time partnership agreement in 2008 with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the International Herald Tribune. This year, Jaeger- LeCoultre is once again supported this initiative by organising, in conjunction with its two partners, a diving expedition on one of the marine sites on the World Heritage list. The diving expedition this year at the heart of one of the 46 marine sites on the UNESCO World Heritage list: the Fernando de Noronha nature reserve amid the Brazilian Atlantic islands. The purpose of this exploration conducted by Jaeger-LeCoultre in partnership with UNESCO and the International Herald Tribune was to discover this “Crown Jewel of the Ocean” and the threats to its survival. A diver was able to explore the depths of this unique location. On his wrist was the Jaeger- LeCoultre Deep Sea Chronograph Cermet watch.

Product Launch

Jacob & Co celebrates its second annual exhibition in Monaco with Cristiano Ronaldo

Jacob & Co celebrated the launch of its second annual exhibition in Monaco, Monte Carlo at the hotel de Paris. Cristiano Ronaldo, the face of Jacob & Co. men’s watches, co-hosted the glamorous affair. Mr. Ronaldo had been a fan of the brand for years and so becoming an ambassador was a natural fit for him. Guests at the event were dazzled by the collection of jewelry and watches on display. The exhibition is held until july 16th in the Salle de Empire at the Hotel de Paris.

Chopard revealed a unique L.U.C Tourbillon model Only Watch 2013

Chopard unveiled a unique L.U.C Tourbillon model featuring movement bridges adorned with relief or “filet” engravings also known as Fleurisanne engraving. The L.U.C Tourbillon Only Watch 2013 Edition is graced with a rhodiumed white gold hand-engraved dial bearing the coat of arms of the Principality of Monaco surrounded by a DNA molecule a graphic reminder of the cause to which the Only Watch project is devoted. Clothed in a 43 mm-diameter titanium case with contrasting polished and brushed surfaces, the L.U.C 02.17-L Manufacture movement is also decorated with a DNA molecule on the bridge side, crafted using the Fleurisanne engraving technique. The model is water-resistant to 50 metres and fitted with a matt black hand-sewn alligator leather strap with a cognac-coloured alligator lining.

Graham presented Tourbillon Orrery

Graham presented Orrery wrist machine with High-technology was used to realize a tri-dimensional Tourbillon Orrery. Set in motion the Orrery includes the Moon, Earth, Mars and the Sun based on a 300-year calendar. The Sun represented by a pink gold hand-engraved Tourbillon bridge with 2 Phoenix heads celebrate the decoration used by George Graham. The year counter on the case back enables to identify correction for the planets (Moon: 7 years, Earth: 1156 years, Mars: 25 years).

Girard-Perregaux new Vintage 1945 XXL models

The Vintage 1945 XXL Collection combines proven techniques with uncluttered aesthetics to give its time indications their maximum impact. These two new models carved in steel, one with its large date and moon-phases indicator, the other with its Chronograph function, are thus added to a watch line that has succeeded in imposing its own style right from the first. The charcoal-gray color of the spherical dial is softened by a vertically-applied satin finish, while the steel bracelet has a very contemporary look to it, with its stylish links showcased by an alternating polished and satin finish. The velvet surface of the dial is highlighted by the discreet relief of the applied Breguet numerals and also of the counters, whose fitted circles and azure decorative features attract the light.

Ulysse Nardin presents Marine Chronometer Manufacture Only Watch

Ulysse Nardin has been crafting marine chronometers, keeping captains and their valued cargo precisely on course. Advanced since its first introduction, the UN-118 caliber is powering the artfully designed Marine Chronometer Manufacture Only Watch. Gracing the 43 mm diameter case is its beautifully handcrafted enamel dial produced by Donzé Cadrans, the world-recognized enamel-dial specialist and a member of the Ulysse Nardin group of companies. For the Marine Chronometer Manufacture Only Watch dial, the aesthetic is a bright, snow white offset by black Roman numerals and bold accents of cherry red, presenting a style that is simultaneously straight-forward and interesting. Its 18-karat rose-gold bevelled case enhances the timepiece’s sophistication.

deLaCour Bichrono model offered to the Musée d’Horlogerie de Genève

The donation of a Bichrono model stemming from the very first series manufactured by deLaCour, the first to own a double movement automatic chronograph. Deprived of its unique name of Musée d’Horlogerie et d’Emaillerie de Genève since the reverberating Route de Malagnou heist, witnesses of the industrial activity developed in the Jura Arc since the 16th Century. “It is not only a conservatory and a memory place, it is also the reflection of “living arts” and imposes itself like a privileged witness of contemporary creation and innovation”, highlights Estelle Fallet while announcing that her area of expertise, horology, will benefit from an ideal mezzanine situation in the heart of the secular part of the Grand Musée d’Art et d’Histoire’s new project, signed by Jean Nouvel.

Alpina introduced new 300 Extreme Diver 300 Orange

The new Alpina features one automatic and one mid-size, quartz caliber model. Both models share a number of professional diving features. The Extreme Diver 300 Orange is water resistant to a depth of 300m/1000ft. It has a screw-in crown and a screw-down case-back, as well as a jet black polished unidirectional rotating 60min diving bezel. The bezel markers are luminous. the features has an anti-reflective treated sapphire crystal. Other shared features include the rich black dial and white luminous indexes. The bright white minute hand is bordered with luminouse orange, and the second hand has the signature Alpina triangle, also in orange, at the base.

Vacheron Constantin introduced Patrimony Traditionnelle World Time Model for Only Watch 2013

The Patrimony Traditionnelle World Time is a unique model specially created for the Only Watch 2013 event. The dial paying tribute to three artistic crafts engraving, enamelling and gem-setting. The Patrimony Traditionnelle World Time “Only Watch” model available in a 42.5 mm-diameter 950 platinum case featuring an exhibition case and water-resistant to 3 bar (around 30 metres). It is supplied with a saddle-stitched black alligator leather strap secured by a folding clasp. The back of this timepiece is engraved with the inscription “Only Watch 2013, Pièce unique”, commemorating the Only Watch event organised by the Monaco Association against Muscular Dystrophy, a charity with which Vacheron Constantin is once again privileged to associate this year.

Arnold & Son’s revealed the TE8 Métiers d’Art I

The TE8 Métiers d’Art I is limited to only eight exclusive timepieces. Arnold & Son’s new Tourbillon TE8 esthetically and technically apart is its unique “English” design: the barrel bridge has a ¾ wave-shape; the tourbillon and motion-work bridges are triangular, and even the wheels are shaped with a distinctive three-spoke design. The features are shown on the dial side, when those would normally be hidden on the reverse of the dial. The TE8 Métiers d’Art I, a beautiful hand-engraved pattern on the barrel bridge and back of the main plate, rose gold case, diameter 44 mm.

Exhibitions & Events

Dubai Gold & Diamond Park offers a special Ramadan promotion

During this Ramadan, the Gold & Diamond Park, Emaar’s retail precinct dedicated to the gold, diamonds, and jewellery trade, are offering a special promotion on all items. Featuring over 100 retail outlets, Gold & Diamond Park boasts gold, purple gold, pearls, platinum, gems and other birthstones, making it the premier shopping destination for all your jewellery needs in Dubai.

Be constantly updated on the latest Watch & Jewellery Business markets of the Middle East, as well as information on competitors, promotions, product trends, industry analyses, appointments, new product introductions & developments and market research.

Our weekly 'Arabian Watches & Jewellery Business Newsletter Broadcast' is distributed to over 22,000+ industry executives, Watch & Jewellery manufacturers and distributors, retailers, investors and media consultants globally.

Unsubscribe / Submission of News / Open Forum / Obtaining our news distribution / Confidentiality Important Copyright Notice / Disclaimer

Developed by We Do Web