The Replicas

Newswire

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Swiss watch exports for 2007 should increase 9 to 10 percent, “which can be considered extraordinary,” predicted
Jean-Daniel Pasche
, president of the
Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH
, in an interview with a Swiss paper in December. He said 2006 was “an excellent year [and a] record year in terms of value [of exports].” He expected the total value of the 2006 exports to top 13 billion francs (about $10.7 billion).
Award-winning luxury brand
DeWitt
in January moved its Swiss operations from Vandoeuvres, Switzerland, to Vernier, near the Geneva airport. The new facility has five times the space of the old one and will allow the watchmaker to “accommodate a steady momentum of growth,” it says. There will also be a significant increase in watchmaking staff. The company had been in Vandoeuvres since it was begun in 2003 by watchmaker
Jérôme de Witt
.
Swiss luxury brand
Vacheron Constantin
, the world’s oldest watchmaker, held a special benefit concert in the presence of
Queen Sophie
of Spain in Madrid recently to aid the
Queen’s Alzheimer’s Foundation
.
The Czech National Symphony Orchestra
played, directed by the young Spanish conductor
Inma Shara
. More than 400 guests attended, including Spain’s minister of education,
Prince Kardam
of Bulgaria,
Princess Miriam
of Hungary, fashion designer
Agatha Ruiz de la Prada
, and members of the Spanish royal family. At a cocktail party afterward, guests viewed the timepieces of
Vacheron Constantin’s Platinum Excellence Collection
as well as a selection of its historical watches.
Swiss
haute horlogerie
watch brand
Jean Dunand
is now represented in the United States by
Luxury Watch Distribution Inc.
Founded in 2006 by
Steven M. Holtzman
and based in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., LWD is the exclusive distributor of Jean Dunand timepieces in North, Central, and South America as well as at the
Wynn Resort
in Macau. Jean Dunand is jointly owned by
Christophe Claret
, a leading Swiss inventor and constructor of complicated movements, and
Thierry Oulevay
, watch designer and marketing expert. The watch brand was launched in 2005. Each Jean Dunand timepiece is a
pièce unique
, making the luxury brand one of the most exclusive in the watch market today. For more information, contact Luxury Watch Distribution at (570) 270-6160 or e-mail: info@luxurywatchdistribution.com.
Wealthy American consumers rate the Swiss-made
IWC
as the most prestigious watch brand, followed closely by
Vacheron Constantin
and
Patek Philippe
, said a new survey by the
Luxury Institute
, based in New York. Respondents called IWC watches “the ultimate in a watch, not garish or gaudy, [with] workmanship and quality [that] is unquestioned [and] craftsmen [who] are artisans of time itself,” said the 2007
Luxury Brand Status Index
survey of luxury watches. Thirty-one upscale and luxury brands were evaluated. A nationally representative sample of American consumers, with a minimum household income of $200,000 and a minimum household net worth of $5 million, were surveyed online. The Luxury Institute is an independent research organization that focuses on the top 10 percent of America’s affluent. It surveys them on luxury brands in many categories, to measure “the value and equity of leading luxury brands to wealthy Americans.”