Doha Watch Exhibition - Complicated Watches are In
WORLDTEMPUS - 21 February 2011
At the eighth annual Doha Jewelry and Watch Exhibition, which took place February 15-20 in Qatar, complex timepieces for men were of the utmost importance. While many were adorned with diamonds and gemstones, the bling seemed to be the accent instead of the emphasis this year. In fact, with some of the world's most prestigious brands exhibiting at this consumer-oriented show, the most prevalent timepieces on display for men seemed to be tourbillons - with prestigious brands such as Audemars Piguet, Bovet, Arnold & Son, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Ulysse Nardin and Zenith showing their finest.
Others displaying complicated watches included boutique brands such as Hautlence and Ladoire and sporty brands such as Breitling and Bell &Ross - whose wares were equally in demand. In fact, more than 100 watch brands were in attendance at this exhibition.
"The Qatari market appreciates sophistication in watchmaking," says Jerome Favier, Sales and Trade Marketing Director for Jaeger-LeCoultre worldwide. "They like diamonds as accents around the bezel or on the case, but these days they are looking for complicated watches to satisfy their demands in taste."
Because this was a "cash-and-carry" show, so to speak, most of the brands exhibited timepieces already available for sale, though some released sneak peeks of products to come in Basel. Arnold & Son, for instance, showed its James Cook trilogy that retails for 156,000 Swiss francs featuring three watches, each depicting a scene from James Cook's expeditions and explorations around the world - including his fatal visit to the Hawaiian Islands. The set is created in a limited edition of 25 pieces, and 12 have already been sold according to Philippe Boven, Executive Vice President of Arnold & Son.
Bovet was also doing b business with its Dragon Watch, which features a tourbillon on one side and an exquisite enamel dragon on the reverse side. This year's delivery of this timepiece will have consumers all set for 2012 - the Chinese Year of the Dragon.
Brands fortunate enough to have special pieces in both jeweled and complicated arenas brought both to the fair. Such is the case with Vacheron Constantin, who showed both the classically elegant Patrimony and Historiques lines in addition to the high-jewelry Kallah watches. Piaget did the same - delighting visitors with the ultra-thin Altiplano models and the high-jeweled one-of-a-kinds.
For women diamonds and gemstones remain important in the Middle Eastern market, and at the Qatar show they were all the rage. Even American jewelry brands such as William Goldberg showed full Ashoka-cut diamond timepieces. Harry Winston, Graff, Jacob & Co., and a few of the other top diamond houses also answered the call with mega-diamond watches for this market.
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