What’s ticking: All the latest watch news, from Geneva and beyond April 25, 2023 Aston Martin and Girard-Perregaux prove it ain’t easy being British-Racing green, Dr Rebecca Struthers makes a similarly convincing ‘case’ for British watchmaking, while George Bamford doubles down in W1K. A round-up of the coolest new watches. A brief biography of time Books on clocks and watches are usually authored by men of a certain age [...]
From a surprising new Rolex to a Muppet in the month window April 24, 2023 Cross the (tastefully appointed) maximum-security threshold of Watches and Wonders and the hierarchy is instantly apparent. There’s Patek Philippe with its parked-up spaceship, conveying its blue-blooded, dyed-in-the-metal pedigree. And then there are 30-something other Swiss watchmakers all clamouring to make a noise in the revitalised, post-Covid white noise of horological newness. This is an industry [...]
Working 9 to 17: Patek Philippe’s stunning Calatrava Travel Time April 24, 2023 A 24-hour-display dial takes a bit of adjustment to read as instantly as your usual 12-hour. But not as long as you’d think. Patek Philippe’s Calatrava Travel Time was the blue-eyed posterboy of the resurgent Watches and Wonders event, Geneva’s luxury watchmaking fair, which took place earlier this month. A consolidation of the now-defunct ‘Baselworld’ [...]
YSL splashes out record rent on Bond Street as luxury sector shrugs off cost of living concerns April 23, 2023 Luxury goods company Kering is set to pay a record rent for the UK, after agreeing a lease for Bond Street’s Yves Saint Laurent store. Market sources told The Sunday Times that Kering will cough up £13m a year for the six-storey West London store, beating Ralph Lauren’s previous record of £11m. The luxury group [...]
Hotel Chais Monnet in Cognac: Stunning space off the tourist track April 12, 2023 The distillery town of Cognac lies off the tourist route, making it ideal for a weekend break that genuinely feels like a getaway. Our Life&Style editor Steve Dinneen stayed at the wonderful Hotel Chais Monnet. Where is it? Cognac, population 18,000, is one of those places whose produce is far more famous than the town [...]
LVMH: Shares in luxury giant hit record high amid warning it’s ‘firing last cartridge’ on back of China’s reopening January 17, 2023 Shares of luxury goods giant LVMH soared to a new record high of £703.35 (€795.7bn) this morning, bringing the company’s market capitalisation to £350bn. LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) continues to thrive after China’s reopening at the start of the year proving to be a major boost for the company, which relies heavily on luxury [...]
LVMH boss promotes daughter Delphine Arnault to top position at Dior January 11, 2023 LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault has appointed his daughter Delphine Arnault as CEO of Christian Dior in a management shake-up. She succeeds Pietro Beccari, 55, who has headed Dior for nearly 12 years but has also been promoted. He is set to take over as CEO of Louis Vuitton from Michael Burke, who will [...]
Capital People: Meet the Bond Street watch dealer serving Daniel Craig and the uber-rich December 2, 2022 London watch dealer Raj Jain has an interesting backstory, having bought and sold rare, antique and luxury watches in both the UK and Mumbai since the 1980s. An industry stalwart, he has been based in London’s fabulous and famous Bond Street area for almost three decades with a watch shop that’s “like a museum” but [...]
Aston Martin shares plunge 12.4 per cent following Jefferies downgrade November 15, 2022 Aston Martin’s shares today slumped as low as 12.4 per cent following Jefferies’ downgrade. Stocks seemed to have slightly recovered since this morning as they were 9.89 per cent down around 12.30pm. In an analyst note sent this morning, the US investment bank demoted the luxury car maker from ‘hold’ to ‘underperform’, while slashing the [...]
Luxury purchases and Battersea openings help improve outlook for Watches of Switzerland November 9, 2022 Watches of Switzerland has upgraded its outlook for the second half of the financial year, following a significant uptick in the purchase of luxury items. The London-based watch-seller experienced a 30 per cent increase in revenue for its luxury watches to more than £660m up until 30 October. It reported a 23 per cent increase [...]