From Your Personal Shopper in Switzerland: Fashion at BASELWORLD

Alongside renowned watch and jewellery manufacturers, such as Omega, Chopard, Bulgari, Rolex or Patek Philippe, a number of the world’s most well-known fashion brands will also be exhibiting in Basel and giving visitors an initial peek at their new watch and jewellery lines. For several years now, a close bond has existed between BASELWORLD, the most important watch and jewellery show globally, and the leading fashion houses with their designers. This liaison has its roots in the early 1970s when Gucci was one of the first fashion houses to introduce watches of its own.

The link between fashion trends and designs in the world of fashion, on the one hand, and accessories like watches and jewellery, on the other, is evident in a large number of brands. Examples include the GG and Bamboo motifs at Gucci or the B watch from Fendi, which constitutes the ideal match for the famous Fendi B bag. In many of the luxury goods companies, including Hermès, Dior and Chanel, a constant flow of design and material-based inspirations takes place in both directions between the watch and jewellery collections and the company’s remaining lines, with the result that they influence and complement each other in the ideal manner. A large number of the watches unveiled here captivate visitors with their accomplished French or Italian design and their perfected art of Swiss watchmaking.

While many of the collections shown at BASELWORLD reflect the major fashion trends and currents from the international catwalks, an influence in the opposite direction is also repeatedly in evidence. Yellow and rose gold have featured frequently at BASELWORLD over the past few years and are now being taken up by the big fashion house collections too. The wider fashion and design trends have similarly been influenced by the use of ceramics, titanium and PVD, as well as by the pavé technique for setting diamonds and the use of coloured stones.

Over the years, a large number of icons from the fashion world have been guests at BASELWORLD, including Vivienne Westwood and Diane von Fürstenberg. And this year once again, brilliant new designs and impressive creations from the most successful watch and jewellery brands and the biggest fashion houses will be enticing people to Basel.

From Your Personal Shopper in Lugano: an Exclusive Shopping Day in Via Nassa

Lugano lies in a bay on the northern side of Lake Lugano, surrounded by numerous mountains offering splendid viewpoints. The traffic-free historic town centre, the numerous buildings in Italianate Lombardy style, the exclusive museums, the mountains, lake and a packed calendar of events all invite visitors to see the sights, soak up the atmosphere – and enjoy “dolce far niente”.  The town centre with its Mediterranean-style squares and arcades, and numerous parks with sub-tropical plants such as the Parco Civico on the shores of the lake invite you to laze around, enjoying the atmosphere.

In Lugano there are all kinds of shops and department stores in which you can find almost anything.

Via Nassa is one of Lugano’s historical streets – its particular and sophisticated shops will accompany you in your shopping. Under the 270 meter long, ancient city porticoes on the lakeshore, there are many different kinds of shops: jewellery, clothing, gastronomy and antique shops are just some of the many, without forgetting a few department stores as well. Via Nassa, Lugano’s number one shopping destination, accompanies you during your shopping outings with its elegant and sophisticated atmosphere.

Via Nassa offers a fantastic range of shops from famous fashion designers’ boutiques to delicatessens and bakeries. Some of the luxury brands you can find here are Hermes, Versace,  Gucci, Issey Miyake, Armani, Louis Vuitton, Cartier and Bulgari.

For Luxury Watches and Jewelry, the most important are Bucherer and Les Ambassadeurs.

LES AMBASSADEURS

It prides itself on its unique choice of some of the most exclusive watch and jewellery brands from around the world combined with a high level of expertise among their employees.

Here is a selection of the featured brands at LES AMBASSADEURS: Audemars Piguet, Breguet, Blancpain, Breitling, Cartier, Girard-Perregaux, Greubel Forsey, IWC, Urwerk, Ulysee Nardin and Jaeger LeCoultre.

BUCHERER

Shopping at Bucherer with it’s famous Rolex collection is as logical an extension of any stroll through the city’s shady lanes as is sipping a cappuccino in a small sidewalk café.

Carl-Friedrich Bucherer opened his first watch store in 1888 in Lucerne and laid the foundation for a successful family business which has extended to a 3rd generation. Today, Bucherer is one of the leading watch and jewellery retailers in Switzerland with over 1100 employees.

As watch and jewellery specialists, Bucherer stocks exclusive world-class brand names such as Rolex, Carl F. Bucherer, Chopard, Piaget, IWC, Audemars Piguet, Girard-Perregaux, TAG Heuer, Tudor, Baume & Mercier, Longines, Rado, Hublot and Gucci

From Your Personal Shopper in Geneve: The 22nd SIHH confirms that Fine Watchmaking is in excellent health

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In more than twenty Shows, the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) has confirmed it is a landmark event for the Fine Watch sector.

The SIHH is where brands premiere their latest watches, the result of often years of intensive research.  The SIHH is also where watchmakers and designers, the representatives of an entire creative team, share their passion for watchmaking one-to-one.

18 exhibitors: CARTIER, IWC, MONT BLANC, PANERAI,  PIAGET, RALPH LAUREN, RICHARD MILLE, PARMIGIANI, AUDEMARS PIGUET, BAUME & MERCIER, GIRARD-PERREGAUX, ROGER DUBOIS, JAEGER LE COULTRE, JEAN RICHARD, VACHERON CONSTANTIN, VAN CLEEF & ARPELS, GREUBEL FORSEY, A. LANGE & SOHNE.

After an outstanding year for Swiss watchmaking, culminating in a new record for exports, the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) took place in an atmosphere of calm confidence. While the global economic climate remains on an unsteady footing, suggesting little room for optimism, the Fine Watch segment sailed through 2011 and there is every reason to believe that the coming months will bring the profession more good news. This was confirmed by the 22nd SIHH, a trade fair exclusively for invited retailers, distributors and the press. Attendance increased by 10% this year, with more than 13 000

visitors from every continent, including 1 200 journalists. An increase of 6% was observed for Asian visitors.

The eighteen exhibiting brands took this opportunity to show what 2012 will be made of. Pride of place went to grandes complications, the métiers d’art, new interpretations of iconic watches, special anniversary editions, and timepieces whose exclusiveness is equalled only by the complexity of their movement.