Arabian Watches and Jewellery magazine met with Edouard Meylan CEO - H. Moser & Cie during his recent visit to Dubai; Dubai Culture and Bulgari launches ‘Bulgari Contemporary Art Award’

   
 
 

Interviews

 

Arabian Watches and Jewellery magazine met with Edouard Meylan, CEO - H. Moser & Cie during his recent visit to Dubai

“We are moving to a state of having everything with almost no branding on it, and just keeping the essence of the product like in a piece of art. I want people to be able to recognize whatever we make as a Moser watch from the distance and it shouldn’t be because we put our name on it.” Excerpts from the interview with Edouard Meylan, CEO - H. Moser & Cie.

“Erythro” is deigned to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the UAE. It is an Endeavour Centre Seconds concept that comes with a ruby dial limited to 20 pieces with red stripes to reflect the UAE flag. What is the inspiration of this edition in terms of dial and strap and why it was not given an Arabic name?

Mr. Mohammad Seddiqi is the creator of this project, and he came to us wanting to do something different this year. They were working on a big series for the 50th anniversary and he always wanted to be associated with our brand and explore ways to push our creative boundaries. He wanted to play with one of the colors of the flag, playing with a natural stone. We started last year with malachite and it was a great success and that inspired us to do the Falcon Eye and Ox Eye editions this year. Mr. Seddiqi got back to us saying there is a stone that he loved and he really liked the red color that is part of the UAE flag. He was truly inspired and wanted to know if it was possible to make a full sapphire dial. We told him we will try as we had never done it so far and the challenge was to find an appropriate stone which in fact is a long process. He picked the name of this watch as “Erythro” and we really don’t know why he picked that particular name. 

During the recent virtual Watch & Wonders you revealed the new H. Moser Endeavour Tourbillon Concept Tiger’s Eye, once again, with a distinctive Moser fumé dial and without indices and brand logos. How confident are you now with such a direction of the brand? No Name and no logo? 

We consider what we do as works of art and the signature should be almost accessory. I want people to be able to recognize whatever we make as a Moser watch from the distance and it shouldn’t be because we put our name on it. The challenge here was using a natural stone that can symbolize the dynamism, the versatility and the playfulness of the light on the dial. The Falcon Eye and Ox Eye are very natural equivalents so when people look at it they would feel it is a Moser though we do not have indices or logo. It becomes like a canvas and people can really appreciate it like a beautiful painting.  It looks different, so when you look at it and play with a little bit of light you will see a constant change, I think that’s the beauty of it. Moser is a bold brand and we are very confident with the reason for moving towards the concept of no logo and no index. Most standard watches have the transparent logo that we introduced in the Megacool. You will see the novelties we have this year are also going to be with the transparent logo. We are moving to a state of having everything with almost no branding on it, and just keeping the essence of the product like in a piece of art. 

The H. Moser Streamliner launched almost 15 months ago was well received by your fans and collectors. Do you intend to reveal soon a new edition to this collection? Will it incorporate new complications? 

We are launching the new edition of Streamliner by the end of August. It will incorporate one of the most important caliber/movement that Moser & co is very proud of. So wait and see. The wonder will be revealed soon.

Do we expect more releases from H. Moser during the course of the year? And what are your plans for the upcoming Geneva Watch Days?

For Geneva Watch Days, we will have many interviews, presentations of what already exists and maybe a teaser about the future. There will be a press conference to launch this, and we are not planning to do big things at the moment. As for us, we will focus on what we do well and a lot of people may be seeing those watches for the first time. We have not been able to travel for a long time now and I don’t want to do too many things. I think we need to catch up with few novelties.

We have seen watch brands creating high complications linked to the engine of the luxury car brands. Can you reveal any future plans of such a car association? 

None for now. I think we will collaborate in the future not with any sports car but with a Swiss luxury brand rather, not necessarily a watch brand. There is something we are working on. As I said in the beginning I want to expand the circle of people who know Moser and we need bigger brands with greater exposure. I think Moser is quite sexy, so are the two collaborations we are working on for next year. These two brands from outside the watch industry came to us and wanted to work with us.

We have witnessed a new genderless trend in the market. H. Moser appears as a very masculine brand. Isn’t this too segmenting for your development?

I don’t know if we are very masculine and all that. I think we have a lot of colors and this is genderless. Look at the blue lagoon. It is not 50/50 but we are now doing 38mm cases. We are open to case sizes and we don’t want to brand our watches as masculine or feminine. Let us say we design this watch for ladies as well as for men. It’s true that by nature and as an independent brand your focus will be being probably on masculine teams naturally. Many of our watches are a little bigger but to be honest I think 40 or 38mm might be the standard in the future rather going to 42 or 43mm. We will not change the positioning though we might reduce the size a little bit. 

Where would be the next big expansion plan for H. Moser brand? And how far are you from having the first H. Moser Boutique/ H. Moser experience in our region? And where?

We have the first boutique already in China. We are working on boutiques in US, and exploring other markets as well. In this region, hopefully not too long from now, (my dream would be by the end of next year) we will have a boutique here. But you need to find the right space, the right size and the right location, but the brand is ready. The brand is ready because we see China is doing well, we have one in Japan doing well. Hopefully, we are opening in New York and in Miami this year. We have one in Hong Kong and we are planning to do one in Switzerland. E-commerce is doing extremely well for us, we sell almost 10 percent of our production online and there’s about 18 months waiting list - So retail is really interesting and rewarding for us.

Where does H. Moser stand on the new trend of the crypto currency and Blockchain?

Now we are working on accepting bitcoin and that’s definitely something I think customers have been asking for a while. We are getting ready for that so online customers will be able to buy against bitcoin. About the blockchain and crypto currency I think it’s a little bit early to create too much complexity for those certification. It is definitely something that will be standard in the near future but I think we are not in the position to be the first one. I think it’s important for us to keep agile and proactive but we need to be cautious playing with a technology that today is in its early stages still.  
 
 
 

Market News

 

Dubai Culture and Bulgari launches ‘Bulgari Contemporary Art Award’

In line with the celebrations of the UAE’s 50th anniversary and Dubai's preparations to host Expo 2020, the largest international exhibition in the world where Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) is the Official Cultural Supporter, the Authority announced its partnership with Bulgari Group which resulted in the launch of the first edition of the 'Bulgari Contemporary Art Award' with the support of the Italy pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. The annual award, which will celebrate contemporary art and emphasize its importance to cultural development in Dubai and the UAE community in general, aims to provide an innovative platform to support local talent throughout the Expo 2020 Dubai journey under the theme 'Connecting Minds, Creating the Future,' providing them with the opportunity to creatively express how beauty connects people, and how cities like Dubai and Rome are linked by their inspirational beauty and innovation.
 

Jawhara Jewellery strengthens presence in the UAE with 17 new stores by end of 2021

Jawhara Jewellery started strong 2021 with the opening of 5 new showroom within UAE. The five new showrooms are opened in the popular locations of Warqa City Mall and Al Tahnya Mall in Dubai, Yas Mall and Al Dafra in Abu Dhabi and City Centre Al Al Zahia in Sharjah. Covering over 5000 sq.ft of area, the new showrooms opening are part of the group’s aggressive expansion plans, and strengthening the group’s positioning within the country and international markets. The new stores are distinguished by their luxurious and distinctive design that reflects the characters of Jawhara Jewellery with a simple exterior design, but which reflects the well-known elegance of Jawhara Jewellery, and a distinctive modern design with a heritage touch that reflects the legacy of this brand that extends for more than 100 years.
 
 

Company News

 

Chopard hosts Paradise Dinner

For the big reveal of the latest creations of the Red Carpet Collection, Chopard's Co-President and Artistic Director, Caroline Scheufele, invited her guests to a majestic dinner. The decor highlighted the Paradise theme that serves as the key inspiration for the collection and provided an enchanting setting worthy of an incredible Garden of Eden. Held on the pontoon of the legendary Martinez Hotel, the dinner notably welcomed Bella Hadid, Isabelle Huppert, Eva Herzigova and Catrinel Marlon. At the end of the evening, Caroline Scheufele unveiled her ultimate surprise: an unforgettable concert by Mika.
 

Blue Salon obtains license from FIFA to design and sell World Cup merchandise

Blue Salon, Qatar’s premier, upscale shopping destination, has announced that it has obtained an official license from FIFA to design and sell fashion merchandise bearing the 2022 FIFA World Cup logo in Qatar. Blue Salon will offer more than 17 different official merchandise items, including: ladies’ scarves, ghutra (traditional head coverings), luggage, backpacks, work bags, candles, travel accessories, cups, home textiles, bed coverings, towels and blankets.
 

La Marquise Jewellery opens its new flagship boutique at The Dubai Mall

Since its inception in 1986, La Marquise Jewellery has been at the forefront of providing its clients with fine jewellery that has unmatched craftsmanship, exclusive designs and unparalleled service standards. The launch of their new The Dubai Mall flagship boutique only further accentuates all these brand qualities. With over 40 years of experience in the industry, the chairman's passion and drive to build a strong brand, La Marquise Jewellery has amassed expertise in all aspects of diamond cutting/polishing and fine jewellery manufacturing; along with winning numerous awards in the last 10 years for their exquisite designs and superior craftsmanship. The new The Dubai Mall boutique is an anchor location in the Souk Atrium, placing the brand amongst some of the best international brands. 
 
 

Product Launch

 

Audemars Piguet introduces a new Royal Oak 34mm in Blue Dial

Audemars Piguet has expanded its 34 mm Royal Oak Selfwinding collection, established in April 2020, with a new reference shimmering with Frosted Gold – a jewellery technique developed in 2016 in collaboration with Italian jewellery designer Carolina Bucci. The 18-carat white gold piece is further enhanced with a Tapisserie dial in new shades of blue. This unique combination celebrates the savoir-faire and refinement at the heart of the Manufacture’s craftsmanship. The sparkle effect adorning the case and bracelet provides a rich contrast with the polished bevels of the bezel, screws, crown and links. In harmony with the timepiece’s design, the newly introduced light blue PVD-coated dial subtly plays with ambient light.
 

Chopard presents the Red Carpet Collection at the Paris Couture Week

On the occasion of Couture Week in Paris (July 5 to 8), Chopard exhibited the miracle of its 2021 Red Carpet Collection in its boutique on the Place Vendôme. Annually nurtured by the Maison’s ongoing love story with cinema and its historical partnership with the Cannes Festival, the collection is now showcasing its charm through the Paradise theme. In doing so, it reveals the dreamy touch of Chopard’s Co-President and Artistic Director, Caroline Scheufele, who flings wide open the doors to the palaces of her imagination. Entirely crafted in the Maison’s Haute Joaillerie ateliers, the Red Carpet Collection embodies the technical expertise and boundless creativity of the finest artisans. Each piece of jewellery stems from an emotion, each culminating from an idea in a creation. 
 

Torsade De Chaumet

One year after the renovation of the hôtel particulier at 12 Vendôme, the new Torsade de Chaumet High Jewellery collection celebrates this historical address. A tribute to the legendary square on which the Maison was the first jeweller to open in 1812, these virtuoso creations are inspired by the sweep of the frieze wrapping the Vendôme Column to offer a modern revisiting and fresh energising of the twist (torsade in French). Like a series of snapshots, the pieces in the collection achieve the feat of fixing the liveliness of movement through gold and stones. Torsade de Chaumet offers pieces that are both light and bold, contemporary and timeless. In white jewels, it highlights each creation’s radiance and line. Embracing colour, it also comes in duos of diamonds and sapphires, rubies or emeralds. 
 

Bell & Ross launches the BR 01 CYBER SKULL

This timepiece revisits the art of the skull watch. Its design is far from the vintage style usually associated with the Skull, to establish itself in contemporary modernity. It projects this art born in the 20th century into the future. With its cut sides and sharp edges, the angular silhouette of the BR 01 CYBER SKULL is reminiscent of that of certain fighter planes described as invisible. Its case is modelled like the fuselage on an F117 fighter plane. To disappear from the radar and seem invisible, these bombers had faceted fuselages that waves would ricochet off. All their surfaces were faceted, making them almost undetectable to radars. This stealth technique is also used on the most sophisticated military ships, in order to conceal their visual identity as much as possible.
 

Introducing the Jacob & Co. Astronomia Alec Monopoly

The recently announced partnership between Alec Monopoly and Jacob & Co. has resulted in the release of the first collaborative timepiece: The Astronomia Alec Monopoly. This piece contains miniature pop characters and images that are staples of Monopoly’s artwork within the iconic Astronomia four-arm vertical movement and its exclusive complications. The colorful animated watch has a black skylayer base housed in an 18K rose gold case with a curved sapphire crystal dome and four sapphire crystal windows on the side that provide a full view of the artistic and mechanical creations inside. The watch is limited to nine pieces.
 

Presenting the Reverso One Cordonnet Jewellery by Jaeger-LeCoultre

For the Reverso One Cordonnet Jewellery, La Grande Maison unites the talents of its gem-setters with its mastery of watchmaking complications, bringing a new and exuberantly feminine expression of glamour to the Reverso collection. Jaeger-LeCoultre featured the cordonnet bracelet (the word means ‘fine braid’) on several women’s watches during the 1930s. This simple black cord – the ‘little black dress’ of watch bracelets – epitomised the refined elegance of the Art Deco period, and perhaps never more so than when paired with the Reverso for the first time, in 1933. For 2021, the Reverso One Cordonnet Jewellery reinterprets this exquisite pairing in radiant style, transforming the simple cord bracelet into a supple braid of gold and diamonds and uniting it with a fully diamond-set Duetto case. 
 

Oktopus Nord and SpidoLite Nord by Linde Werdelin

The essential Nord collection – Linde Werdelin extends the family with the Oktopus Nord and the SpidoLite Nord. Both inspired by the dark blue changing colours of the North Sea’s deep waters, the black/blue fumé dials on these two mirror image pieces feature varied gradations of blue and black; the dial surrounded by a sandblasted, highly anti corrosive, titanium grade 2 case. Each piece can be paired with a range of straps, including our natural rubber strap, all now consisting of 30% recycled rubber and representing our continuous move towards using the most sustainable materials we can source. The Oktopus Nord is a limited edition of 88 numbered pieces. While the SpidoLite Nord is a limited edition of 75 numbered pieces.
 

S. Craft introduces “Green Flow”

Limited to 9 pieces, individually numbered, the new S. Craft “Green Flow” is a skeleton watch whose movement is housed in a green colored sapphire case. The timepiece features a solid sapphire 40mm case that has been carefully machined from a single block of green colored sapphire crystal. It is almost entirely scratch-proof, and the process by which it is made into a finished watch case is extraordinarily difficult. The eye-catching heart of this watch is the skeletonized automatic ETA movement 2892-A2, which carries a typical power reserve of approximately 50hours and is beyond any doubts, one of the most reliable and trouble-free movements in the industry. The same goes for the rotor which is opened like the rest of the movement to allow a clear view of the wheels and pinions interacting.
 

Introducing Ferragamo Miroir

Ferragamo Miroir presents it in an oval version, lengthening the proportions of the case and emphasizing its timeless look through the detail of the red cabochon that surmounts the crown. At the indexes, small metal studs add a touch of dynamism to the delicate sunray guilloché that adorns the white-silver dial. Ferragamo red is an impeccable choice for the leather strap that accompanies the rose gold version, while the three-link bracelet matches the steel case and gives Ferragamo Miroir more decisive, resolute aesthetics. On sale from the end of September in Salvatore Ferragamo boutiques, at authorized retailers and online.
 

Presenting Dante Alighieri: Inferno by Montegrappa

Encased within an antique replica of Dante’s 700-year-old script, the demonic character of Dante Alighieri: Inferno soon becomes clear. “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here”. Extraordinary detailing chronicles Dante’s descent towards the bowels of hell. Created using the jeweller’s art of lost wax casting, each miniature fresco honours the poet’s painstaking narrative. Intricate sections of sterling silver are fitted around a hand-turned core of Montegrappite artisanal resin. Also used to construct the grip section, ‘magma’ is the name given to this exclusive blend. Glowing red turns to orange, then amber as the eye descends through the underworld’s infamous nine circles. Ironically, this hand-coloured detailing is realized using a process known as ‘cold’ enameling.
 
 

Exhibitions & Events

 

The passion for vintage re-starts in September with VICENZAORO

As part of Vicenzaoro September (10-14 September 2021) VO Vintage will be back for the second edition of the event devised by IEG - Italian Exhibition Group, specifically for all collectors, enthusiasts and onlookers of vintage watches and jewellery. From Saturday 11th to Monday 13th September 2021, a precious moment and vis-à-vis encounters for every player in the high-range vintage world, a sector that is expected to grow constantly from now to 2025, with watch sales in the second-wrist market estimated at between 29 and 32 billion dollars. And that’s not all. VO Vintage also offers a trip into the wonderful world of jewellery that has become iconic with time.
 
 

Celebrity News

 

Dorra Zarrouk wears Chopard to the Premiere of "De son vivant"

Dorra Zarrouk wore Chopard to the Premiere of De son vivant (Peaceful) by Emmanuelle Bercot, at Cannes Film Festival. Dorra selected a pair of earrings from the Red Carpet collection, in titanium set with oval-shaped rhodolites (85.57cts) and brilliant-cut pink sapphires (2.65cts) along with a ring set with amethysts, sapphires, rubies and Paraiba tourmalines. 
 

Celebrities wears Messika at the opening ceremony of the 74th Cannes Film Festival

On the Opening Ceremony of the 74th Cannes Film Festival, Messika dressed celebrities like Svetlana Ustinova, Fatima Almomen and Mélita Toscan Du Plantier. Famous Russian actress, Svetlana Ustinova, stunned in Messika By Kate Moss High Jewelry collection. She wore the choker, bracelet and the 3 finger ring from Independent Icon set. The well-known Middle East influencer, Fatima Almomen, was radiant in the Saguaro earrings and ring, similar to the Diamond Wave ring. The French producer Mélita Toscan Du Plantier was a vision on the red carpet with the Diamond Catcher earrings and 2 finger ring.
 
 
 
 

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