On January 22, 2018 Richemont announced its intent to purchase the remaining shares it doesn’t already own of online luxury retailer YOOX Net-A-Porter Group (YNAP). There’s much more to this story than just a corporate acquisition. This is as much about Amazon and how fine timepieces will be sold in the future as it is about the online sales of luxury goods between two industry giants.
Friends, colleagues, and clients have posed many questions about the grey market for fine timepieces over the years. Most recently, my post ‘A Cautionary Tale on Buying New Watches Online’ was met with quite a few comments, quite possibly leaving more questions than answers. Here are a few answers.
The Limited Edition program (Edición Limitada) has been the great success story for Cuban cigars this century, and the recently released Cohiba Talismán Limited Edition 2017 is the latest in a line of superb smokes.
La Montre Hermès moved from Baselworld to Geneva for the 2018 SIHH and picked the perfect theme for its debut there: “Let’s Play.” The brand’s fun-filled booth and watches were a welcome contrast to the often overly serious business side of the fair. Check them out right here!
In this edition of ‘Behind the Lens,’ GaryG pays tribute to the introduction of the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 on October 24, 1994. He brings us stunning images of two very special variants of the classic watch: the rare Cellini limited edition, of which only 25 were made for the New York City retailer, and the even rarer stainless steel Lange 1, which was not a limited edition per se, but certainly a (very) limited sort-of production watch.
The unabashed star of Greubel Forsey’s 2018 SIHH presentations was the GMT Earth, which enables a simultaneous view of three separate time zones and features an enchanting three-dimensional titanium globe showing universal time (both summer and winter) on the back. And the gorgeous new Différentiel d’Égalité is equally as technical. Check out these new watches from SIHH 2018 right here.
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Kalparisma line, Parmigiani Fleurier launches two limited editions marrying sophisticated haute horlogerie with refined haute joaillerie, featuring a sprinkling of starry-eyed diamonds and the mysterious shine of aventurine dials.
Halfway through the 2018 SIHH, Elizabeth and Ian met with Marc André Deschoux of the Watches TV to discuss what we had seen so far. Find out more about trends, independents, the Urwerk AMC technology, some standout ladies’ watches, and the mood at the fair in this fast-moving and friendly discussion.
Founded in 1991, until now Hennessey has made a name for itself by extracting huge amounts of horsepower (chiefly) out of American sports cars and SUVs while keeping them drivable and dependable. Now comes the Venom F5, the first full Hennessey and one that can do up to 300 mph – if there were tires available to hold up at this speed.
IWC’s Tribute to Pallweber Edition 150 Years stands out as the first wristwatch with digital time display the Swiss brand has ever produced. And it is thanks to this big anniversary that IWC has dug deep into its archives to breathe new life into this beauty.