From the strongest market leaders to the brightest individual stars, the business of luxury watch retail has never been more dynamic.
If the luxury media are regarded as the storytellers of fine living, decoding the spirit and essence of good taste for the consumer through slick glossies, hyper-visual reels and smart listicles, then the retailers would naturally be the culture tellers of our time. For it is the retailer who, with razor-sharp insights on the market, knows what it is that drives collectors wild with frenzy, and who, with strong relationships with the different manufactures, knows when, where and how the industry is evolving.
Good retailers in particular are more than mere middlemen, inasmuch as all of them do represent that last-mile connection between brand and customer. On top of the requisite wide product offering and great service quality, the separation of the proverbial wheat from chaff in the retail business happens when passion and personality enter the equation.
Because when there’s passion, the retailer becomes an active participant in the fine watchmaking industry — and this is undoubtedly an industry that so capably stokes the fire in our hearts. A retailer with a strong personality, whether that comes from a dynamic company founder or a team of dedicated visionaries, is one that forms true bonds with the watch buyers, so that they grow together in their journey as enthusiasts or collectors.
And to that we say, there’s no better time to commend that than now. We are proud to present Revolution’s Top 20 Retailers, a select company of heroes, from family-run global enterprises to the dedicated individuals who dominate their corner of the region, all of whom represent the best voices in the business, and whose influence, passion, and drive to educate and cultivate the very best of watch culture, we laud their efforts in elevating the watch community to where it is today.
The world and indeed the Middle East was a very different place when Ahmed Qasim Seddiqi started his watch business in 1950. From humble beginnings buying and selling watches out of his cabinet before starting his own shop in Dubai’s Old Souk (traditional market), to becoming one of the first retailers for Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet in the Middle East, and supplying more than 90 percent of the world’s luxury Swiss watch brands in that market in the years following, Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons has come a long way, respected as a pioneer of luxury retailing in the Middle East, and one of the reasons behind the UAE’s rise as one of the top shopping destinations of the world.
Presently, the company remains a family business, operated by the second, third and fourth generations of the Seddiqi family. It now boasts a portfolio of over 80 luxury timepiece and jewelry brands that range in value from premium to high luxury, sold through more than 50 locations throughout the UAE.
The biennial Dubai Watch Week, organized by Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons
These include the largest Rolex store in the world, and other mono-brand stores including Patek Philippe, Chopard, Hublot, Richard Mille, F.P. Journe, TAG Heuer, Tudor and Breitling. Cementing its reputation further as a pioneer and leader in the watch community in this part of the world, the Seddiqi family are also the organizers of Dubai Watch Week, which saw its first edition in 2015 and has since become an important date in the watch community’s calendar, when the world of watchmaking and watchmaking culture descends on Dubai for an exchange of knowledge, ideas and the furtherance of timepiece appreciation.
One of Singapore’s largest luxury watch retailers in Singapore, it grew from a single shop started by Anthony Lim in the now-defunct Columbo Court building in 1972, to what is today a public-listed group — Cortina Holdings Limited — with more than 40 stores in the region, covering Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Taiwan and Hong Kong. These include monobrand stores for such brands as Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Jacob & Co, Franck Muller, IWC, Panerai, Tudor and TAG Heuer, covering a comprehensive spread of the luxury tier of the watch market.
Its Patek Philippe boutique in Taipei 101, Taiwan is the largest in Asia.
The largest Patek Philippe boutique in Asia is located at Taipei 101 in Taiwan, and is operated by Cortina Watch
From making strategic inroads into the region and going on to becoming a public-listed enterprise in 2002, another milestone in the company’s growth is its acquisition of another major Singapore-based luxury watch retailer, Sincere Watch, in 2021, for S$85 million. It is understood from Cortina’s company reports that Cortina’s main focus would be on international luxury brands, while Sincere Watch lays a greater spotlight on (but not restricted to) boutique brands and independents, the likes of Greubel Forsey, H. Moser & Cie., and Laurent Ferrier.
As of financial year 2023, Cortina Holdings saw a 15 percent growth in revenue to S$827 million, for a 13 percent rise in net profit to S$84 million; on a net worth of some S$382 million.
Founded in 1954, Singapore’s oldest luxury watch retailer was not just the go-to for the top brands of the day, but was also a forward-thinking champion of independent watchmaking, playing a significant role in the success of such brands as Franck Muller and F.P. Journe before they became the runaway successes that they are today. The last two decades have seen the company change hands more than a few times, and the dust looks to have settled after its acquisition by Cortina Holdings in 2021, setting the storied retailer on a stable footing for ambitious plans afoot.
For starters, Sincere Haute Horlogerie, a specialist boutique dedicated to independent watchmaking that Sincere operated from 2005 to 2016 was brought back in September 2022 and rebranded SHH (the old name was “a bit of a mouthful!” according to CEO Ong Ban), with a new concept boutique at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
Brands showcased here include Greubel Forsey, Grönefeld, Chopard L.U.C, Laurent Ferrier, Armin Strom, Lang & Heyne, and Czapek & Cie. New SHH boutiques have been added since, in Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan.
The SHH flagship boutique in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
Sincere had been a long-time advocate of horological education and appreciation, with collectors’ events and workshops, and it’s been reported that there are plans to bring back the much-missed Sincere Watch Academy next year to mark Sincere’s 70th anniversary.
The company presently has more than 23 boutiques and points-of-sale across Asia and Australia, with a portfolio of some 40 brands, with around half of these brands available for purchase/order via its online store.
Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry
Established in 1980 by gemologist Stephen Silver, the company began as an estate jewelry business in the Silicon Valley area, where over the course of the last four decades, Silver established for himself a reputation as one of the world’s leading experts in asset-class-colored gemstones and museum quality jewelry. Notable stones that passed through his hands include the Cullinan Blue Diamond necklace, a historic piece he went on to purchase and donate to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and the Pink Promise Diamond, which after Silver’s recut achieved a price-per-carat world record at auction in 2017.
Silver was subsequently joined by his son Jared Silver, who extended the business into the timepiece sphere by developing and launching the company’s timepiece division in 2014. In step with the company’s high and fine jewelry offerings, the timepiece division focused on rare and exceptional marques, drawn mainly from the who’s who of independent watchmaking. These include MB&F, Greubel Forsey, H. Moser & Cie, Urwerk, and Laurent Ferrier.
Presently, the company is a vertically integrated, global wholesale manufacture and retail operation with emphasis on diamond and colored stone cutting, custom design services, and rare, collectible timepieces. Besides a boutique located in Silicon Valley at Rosewood Sand Hill resort in Menlo Park, the company also operates a private showroom and offices in Redwood City.
Major expansion is in store for 2024, which involves a 35,000-square-foot mixed-use retail and dining development that will house a mix of flagship mono-brand boutiques, a unique members’ club-like showroom, Michelin-starred gastronomic experiences, and more.
India’s largest luxury watch retail chain opened its first store in 2003 and after becoming a public limited company in 2007, has averaged more than two new boutique openings every year for the last 20 years, totalling more than 60 multi-brand boutiques and mono-brand shops across 23 cities in India. Thereafter, the company became public listed in 2022. The chain offers a broad swathe of luxury timepieces from major international brands to a smattering of independent watchmakers, numbering more than 60 at last count.
Ethos also offers certified pre-owned luxury watches.
Explains Chairman and Managing Director Yashovardhan Saboo, “We believe that our growth potential is inextricably interwoven with India’s rise on the global economic and consumption landscape… We aim to capitalize on the growing demand for entry- level products as well as middle to high range products in the premium and luxury segment by expanding our retail footprint.”
Ethos boutique in New Delhi, India
In addition to its physical stores in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities in India, the large volume of merchandise on offer is also, with some exceptions, available for purchase via the Ethos website, which, considering the volume of goods and content being served, is a study of utility and efficiency.
As we understand from the company’s 2022/2023 annual report, Ethos Watch Boutiques has a net worth of INR 6,320 million (USD 76 million), and total assets of INR 8,800 million (USD 106 million). Revenue grew 27 percent over the last financial year, to INR 7,890 million (USD 95 million).
In November 2023, Watchbox founders Danny Govberg and Justin Reis unveiled The 1916 Company, a new venture that aims to become the leading global destination and community for fine watches, jewelry, and education. This new enterprise is the result from the merger of renowned brands including WatchBox, Govberg, Radcliffe, and Hyde Park Jewelers.
In addition, The 1916 Company seeks to unite the primary and secondary markets under a single, cohesive brand, incorporating over 20 boutiques and Collector’s Lounges in major watch markets across the globe.
WatchBox founders, Tay Liam Wee (left), Justin Reis (middle) , and Danny Govberg (right)
The name “The 1916 Company” pays homage to the legacy of Albert Govberg, the founder of Govberg Jewelers in Philadelphia in 1916. Danny Govberg, Co- founder, Executive Chairman, and grandson of Albert, described the company as a “107-year-old start-up” with a commitment to enduring relationships and innovative change, catering to the evolving needs of discerning watch collectors.
The company has also joined the official network authorized to sell Rolex Certified Pre-Owned watches, expanding its offerings for watch collectors. Meanwhile, pre-owned Rolex timepieces will no longer be presented on WatchBox.
The WatchBox boutique in Boca Raton, Florida
The new entity leverages the strengths and legacies of the largest pre-owned platform, combined with the expertise of three independent jewelers. The company’s presence encompasses various locations, including multi-brand salons and mono-brand boutiques across the United States; John Shmerler and Damon Gross will lead the authorized retail network of The 1916 Company.
The company boasts a pre-owned collection valued at over $200 million, with a particular focus on ultra-rare and collectible timepieces, as well as artisanal independent watchmaking.
For its sheer size, when Bucherer makes the headlines, it feels as if such a great weight has shifted that the industry’s foundations are perceptibly rocked. In 2018, Bucherer, one of the largest retailers of fine watches and jewelry in Europe, acquired Tourneau, then the largest luxury watch retailer in the U.S.
This exercise brought a staggering number of stores within the Bucherer fold on both ends of the Atlantic, plus a well-stocked online watch shop serving the domestic U.S. market. Then in August 2023, Rolex — the largest luxury watch brand in the world — announced that it had acquired Bucherer, the largest watch retailer in the world with more than 100 stores worldwide.
The TimeDome boutique in Las Vegas
Even as the completion of the acquisition by Rolex awaits the blessings of the competent authorities, changes have already been felt, with more to come in a developing story. Bucherer had its beginnings as a family business which opened its first watch and jewelry store in 1888, in Lucerne, Switzerland.
In 1924, the company added Rolex to its portfolio, a relationship that continues to the present day. Besides retail, it also launched the Carl F. Bucherer brand of watches in 2001.
Bucherer-exclusive editions, in collation with Girard-Perregaux and Hublot
Bucherer’s watch portfolio consists of some 40 watchmaking brands. These include Rolex, Biver, Cartier, Grand Seiko, Hermès, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Oris and Tudor.
It also offers certified pre-owned watches from several brands including Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Breitling, Omega and IWC.
Just as the Singapore watch market punches way above its weight class, The Hour Glass founded here in 1979 has grown so far in scale that it is more properly labeled a regional watch retailer as opposed to a local business, with more than 60 boutiques spread across 12 cities in the Asia-Pacific, including Australia, Japan, Vietnam and Hong Kong. These comprise The Hour Glass multi-brand boutiques, mono-brand stores for the likes of Rolex, Patek Philippe, MB&F, Hublot, and Grand Seiko, as well as stores operated by the Watches of Switzerland local retail chain which The Hour Glass purchased in 2014 to extend its reach into suburban retail landscape and the premium tier of watches, as an alternative to its largely high luxury and independent watch brands.
According to its annual report for the 2023 financial year, revenue for the group grew by nine percent to exceed SGD 1 billion dollars. Profit after tax grew 10 percent to SGD 174 million, and net asset value stood at SGD 774 million.
The Hour Glass Malmaison along Knightsbridge in Singapore
Besides the scale, performance, and the constellation of the most prestigious watch brands in its portfolio, The Hour Glass is also a recognized leader in its field for doing things a little differently for the furtherance of watchmaking culture. Beyond the usual watchmaker meets for collectors, it also organized the Tempus watch fairs in the 2000s which brought the Swiss watchmaking experience to the general public.
Other brands represented by The Hour Glass include Akrivia, F.P. Journe, De Bethune, Kari Voutilainen, Sarpaneva and Urwerk.
Established in 1924, Watches of Switzerland began in the U.K. before branching into the U.S., numbering 22 multi-brand and mono-brand showrooms in the U.K., and nine in the U.S. More than 50 watch brands are represented, covering a broad sweep of the luxury watch brands, supplemented by pre-owned watches from numerous brands, and certified pre-owned watches from Rolex.
The company is actually part of the public-listed Watches of Switzerland Group which also owns several other retail chains in the watch retail trade, some of which date back to the 18th century, like Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths. All tallied, and counting the digital retail platforms, the group boasts 211 showrooms at last count, with revenue exceeding GBP 1.5 billion (a rise of 19 percent from the last financial year), with nearly 90 percent coming from sales of luxury watches.
Operating profit grew 26 percent to GBP 179 million and the group ended the 2023 financial year with GBP 469 million in net assets.
Grand Seiko Heritage with a purple dial, an exclusive model for Watches of Switzerland
The group’s size and scope brings it squarely within spitting distance of Bucherer: close enough that the group’s stock price shed 30 percent of its value when Rolex first announced that it had acquired Bucherer. It recovered somewhat after, but it remains a point of concern for some analysts that Rolex accounts for more than half of Watches of Switzerland’s business.
Founded by John Simonian a year after he moved to the U.S. from Switzerland in 1986, Westime grew to become one of the top destinations in West Coast America for a broad selection of the best names in Swiss watchmaking, counting locals, tourists as well as celebrities and star athletes among its patrons. The family-owned business is now helmed by Simonian’s son Greg Simonian, who was appointed company president from 2010.
Watch brands represented in Westime’s portfolio include Bell & Ross, Breitling, Carl F. Bucherer, De Bethune, Glashütte Original, Grand Seiko, Hublot, Omega, Tudor and Urwerk. Westime has also expanded into the certified pre-owned segment, offering pre-owned watches tested and verified by in-house watchmakers, from several brands including Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, F.P. Journe and Cartier.
A Zenith Master of Chronographs exhibit on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills
Westime is also the only authorized seller of certified pre-owned Richard Mille timepieces in the U.S.
Westime boutiques are currently listed at three locations, in Beverly Hills in the Rodeo Drive shopping area, La Jolla and Miami.
GMT Great Masters of Time
GMT Great Masters of Time stands out for its focus representing the most innovative independent watchmakers on the cutting edge of style and mechanical watchmaking. Its single store located at Via della Spiga within the Quadrilatero della Moda in Milan is stocked with pieces from brands the likes of F.P. Journe, MB&F, Urwerk, H. Moser & Cie., Czapek, Ressence, Hautlence, Romain Gauthier, Haldimann and Voutilainen.
It also carries jewelry from Messika, Fred, Qeelin and Redline.
Three generations of the Corvo family
The company traces its roots to the watch distribution company started by Giorgio Corvo in the 1960s. During this phase, it played a part in the revival of JaegerLeCoultre’s Reverso. However, towards the early 2000s, Giorgio’s son Michele, who presently serves as company chairman, was compelled to rethink the company strategy in the face of major changes transforming the retail landscape at the time.
This led him to start GMT Great Masters of Time in 2007, focused on showcasing and marketing the unique creations of independent watchmakers. The present boutique at Via della Spiga is a relatively recent milestone, opened in 2021.
GMT Great Masters of Time in Milano, Italy
The retailer’s core audience ranges from passionate watch collectors to enthusiasts, as well as international clients, with the company having positioned itself as the starting point and companion for those venturing into the world of independent watchmaking. Presently, GMT Great Masters of Time is owned by the third generation of the family, helmed by brothers Jacopo and Mattia Corvo.
Some stores have all the muscle in terms of sales figures, an armada of stores stretching across continents, and all the charm and efficiency of a fast-food restaurant. That is not a negative like bad service is a negative.
Fast-food has its proper place and function after all. That said, Chronopassion is quite the opposite in character, a standalone store that has such visibility and influence within the watch aficionado community, for the simple reason that owner Laurent Picciotto effectively communicates an electrifying passion that gets one excited about timepieces.
Laurent Picciotto, Founder of Chronopassion
In breaking the “rules” and eschewing convention for its own sake to champion creativity and individuality, it was only natural that Picciotto famously opened his store in 1988 without knowing anything about watch retail, only what he didn’t want. And that was enough to make the store a success, and attract other like-minded individuals on the adventure, as Chronopassion became the place to be for the rarest, most exclusive and unique watches.
Major brands do figure in its portfolio, but Chronopassion is a natural fit for the fiercely creative world of independent watchmaking. There are cult watches; and Chronopassion comes as close as one can think of, most aptly located in a trend-setting city such as Paris.
Founded in 1977 by Leon Adams, Cellini Jewelers has been an independent purveyor of fine jewelry and luxury watches in New York City for over 40 years. It first opened as a boutique within the Waldorf Astoria in New York, and since 2018, has moved to its larger Park Avenue location in midtown Manhattan.
Jewelry offered ranges from bespoke pieces and in-house designs to creations from top brands, such as Carrera y Carrera, Oscar Heyman, Sara Weinstock and Wellendorff. For watch shoppers, in addition to major luxury brands, the company also offers a broad range from some of the most innovative and exclusive independent watchmakers.
These include De Bethune, Ferdinand Berthoud, Greubel Forsey, Grönefeld, Laurent Ferrier, Romain Gauthier and Urwerk. It also carries clocks from L’Epée and MB&F.
Cellini Jeweler's founder, Leon Adams (Image: Industry Magazine)
As Leon Adams explains in an earlier interview with
Revolution, “We are the only store in NYC that has an extensive selection of both watches and jewelry. We are pretty unique that we have jewelry from the very affordable all the way up to super important gemstones.
“We don’t only deal with the mainstream watch brands and the groups, as most stores do. We are doing that, of course, but we have a huge and diverse collection of independents that you can’t find anywhere else in New York.”
EsperLuxe makes a fitting poster child for the contemporary business model that is the product of timeless principles of enterprise, namely passion and vision, colliding with the context and realities of our time — aesthetics, community and connection in the era of social media. Company founder Christopher Daaboul was working with his father on the wholesale side of the watch and jewelry business when on a visit to Baselworld in 2014, he stumbled upon “The Palace,” a tented pavilion away from the comparatively glitzy main exhibition area, where independent watchmakers were showcased.
It was an “OMG” moment for Daaboul. He says, “It completely blew my mind. There were so many watchmakers and creators that were on the cutting edge of design and mechanics.
“There was so much creativity inside of that group, and it was very personal talking to the watchmakers with their creations in hand.”
EsperLuxe in Massachusetts, USA
Daaboul gave himself five years to set himself on the trajectory to get into this scene; EsperLuxe was founded in 2019, an online store that leveraged rich visuals and editorial content to build a watch community of consumers and independent creators, a platform for learning about and purchasing independent brands such as De Bethune, Urwerk, Akrivia, Kudoke, Arnold & Son, and Angelus. Steadfast growth since its inception has also led EsperLuxe to its first brick-and-mortar collaboration with its retail partner Date & Time in the Boston area.
EsperLuxe is presently an authorized retailer of roughly 10 brands, and is a sponsor of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI), doing its part in nurturing the next generation of watchmakers.
Away from Paris that is disproportionately the doorway to France for many, this family business has instead chosen other very scenic parts of France to site its boutiques. It started with Richard Doux setting up his manufacturing workshop in the 1980s after graduating from the Lyon Jewelry School, then opening shops in Avignon in southeastern France, known for its medieval architecture, Courchevel up in the French Alps, and Saint-Tropez by the coast on the French Riviera. Doux’s sister Diane followed a decade later, opening her shop in Nîmes, famous for its Roman architecture.
Today, the company owns seven boutiques in these locales, consisting of multi-brand boutiques, and mono-brand stores for Rolex and high jewelry brand Messika. Stores are equipped with watchmaking workshops staffed by brand-certified watchmakers to provide a comprehensive range of repair and maintenance services, and there are also jewelry workshops to serve customers who desire custom jewelry.
The Rolex boutique in Courchevel
Watch brands in the Doux portfolio include Rolex, Piaget, Hermès, IWC, Greubel Forsey, Breitling and Cartier. In addition to jewelry from Chaumet, De Grisogono, Chopard and Pomellato, the company also sells its own Doux brand jewelry.
Les Ambassadeurs Luxembourg
A watch and jewelry chain originating in Switzerland, Les Ambassadeurs started operations in Geneva in 1964, with further stores added in other Swiss cities such as Lucerne and Zurich. In December 2019, just weeks before the first COVID lockdown began, it entered into a joint venture to expand into Luxembourg, sometimes referred to as “the banking capital of Europe,” nestled between Belgium, France and Germany.
In the four years since, Les Ambassadeurs has braved the challenging retail scene to open four boutiques in Luxembourg: two multi-brand stores, and mono-brand boutiques for Omega and Messika respectively. This is no mean feat, considering the shifting landscape of luxury retail characterized by the streamlining of brand distribution networks towards direct sales e-commerce platforms and brand-owned stores, as well as the consolidation of multi-brand distribution giants.
This has driven Les Ambassadeurs Luxembourg to double down on its point of differentiation: by refining every aspect of the buying experience including communication and storytelling, for the local customer, to the end of building customer loyalty in procuring luxury items that Les Ambassadeurs “curates but does not produce.” Les Ambassadeurs’ retail spaces, both online and physical, are likened to “retail theater,” which are refreshed every two months much like an editorial calendar, to bring product presentation, education and storytelling to an amplified level beyond mere point-of-sale.
More than 30 watch and jewelry brands are represented by Les Ambassadeurs Luxembourg, including Breguet, Bulgari, Girard-Perregaux, Glashütte Original, Grand Seiko, Vulcain and Ulysse Nardin.
The “Pisa” family name and “1940” for the year brothers Osvaldo and Ugo Pisa started their watch repair shop in Via Pietro Verri, is a succinct encapsulation of the company’s roots, practice and aspirations. Much else has changed over the decades.
In the postwar years, Via Pietro Verri went on to become the Quadrilatero della Moda (Fashion District) of Milan, and the company, now helmed by third-generation Chiara Pisa (granddaughter of Ugo Pisa) has charted significant growth in the last two decades with the addition of more boutiques, all within the Quadrilatero.
This expansion began with the company’s first mono-brand boutiques in 2008, for Rolex (the first in Europe) and Patek Philippe (the first in Italy), respectively; its multi-brand flagship store in 2016; followed in quick succession by mono-brand boutiques for Vacheron Constantin (2018), Hublot (2020), and A. Lange & Söhne (2023). True to its watch-repair roots and refined customer experience that earned the company’s reputation as “the salon of Milanese haute horlogerie”, these boutiques are not just beautiful spaces befitting of the luxury products offered, but the flagship, Rolex and Patek Philippe boutiques also feature on-site workshops — what Pisa 1940 calls “watchlabs” — to offer a comprehensive suite of technical support services, including immediate service intervention where necessary.
Pisa 1940 carries more than 30 brands, ranging from the best-known to the relatively niche, over a wide spectrum of style and complexity. While the Italian customer had been the company’s main focus, today international customers outnumber the local, with most coming from Asia, the Middle East and North America.
A relatively new establishment, Material Good was started 2015 by Rob Ronen and Michael Herman, with the aim of providing a most fetching environment for the purchase of fine jewelry and rare pre-owned watches. Ronen had worked for Audemars Piguet for many years, overseeing sales in North America, and his experience with luxury retailers during this time had impressed upon him that, “over and over again, the shopping experience wasn’t as elegant or luxurious as the products.”
With this in mind, the Material Good flagship store located within the central part of SoHo New York is an artfully curated living space, complete with full kitchen and bar, that is in fact a showroom offering fine and custom jewelry, as well as pre-owned and vintage watches with an emphasis on Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, Rolex and Richard Mille. Watch offerings are supplemented by a procurement department headed by Yoni Ben-Yehuda, head of watches, which is tasked with sourcing rare pieces for customers with particular requirements.
While Material Good’s headline offerings are fine jewelry and rare watches, the company has also organically branched into other fine things, an emporium of authentic, rare luxury items from its curated selection of leather goods and fine art, exclusively sold at its SoH0 boutique. Material Good also offers concierge service to “source the world’s most sought-after artwork pieces and leather accessories on a global scale.”
In addition to the store at New York, Material Good recently opened a second location, located at Miami Beach, Florida, which at the time of writing is open by appointment only. The company also operates Audemars Piguet boutiques across the U.S., in Aspen, Boston, Dallas, and the AP House NYC in the Meatpacking District.
After completing marketing and business studies in London, company president Carla Chalouhi took over her father’s duty-free business in 1994 and has been transforming it ever since, adding a chain of beautifully appointed boutiques and mono-brand shops in the heart of Paris, London and Monaco. Arije’s flagship store at 50 Rue Pierre Charron is a 1,600 square-meter space housed in a 19th century Haussmann building on a street a short distance from the Champs-Élysées.
Some 30 watch brands are represented, including Rolex, Cartier, Audemars Piguet, Gerald Charles, Vacheron Constantin, Omega, Zenith and IWC. Jewelry brands represented include Boucheron, Chaumet, Piaget, Repossi and Chopard. The flagship store is complemented by another Arije boutique at 5 Place du Québec, a “Collections” concept store on 33 Avenue George V that brings together art and luxury watch retail into a unified space, and mono-brand stores for Rolex, Hublot, Piaget and high jewelry brand Messika.
Chalouhi has also expanded the business by branching overseas, with a boutique and Audemars Piguet store in London, and two mono-brand stores in Monaco for Audemars Piguet and Roger Dubuis respectively. To serve customers better, each shop has its own workshop, offering a range of after-sales and support services ranging from maintenance advice and verification to complex repairs and overhauls, for latest models as well as vintage pieces.
For jewelry customers, Arije also boasts a design studio to handhold customers through custom jewelry design and fabrication.
Heurgon Horloger & Joaillier
Located in the vicinity of the elegant Madeleine district and the Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris, Heurgon Horloger & Joaillier is right at home amongst the luxury boutiques, high-end food stores, cultural landmarks and charming architecture. As it should, since it claims to have operated continuously from its 15 Rue Royale address since 1865, before moving to its present location a few minutes’ walk away at 58 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
Purchases can be made on-site at the physical store, or online through its website. Watch brands available include Bulgari, Blancpain, Chopard, Franck Muller, Grand Seiko, Arnold & Son and Ulysse Nardin.
Chopard Mille Miglia Alpine Eagle event at the Heurgon boutique
Jewelry brands available include De Grisogono, Boucheron, Chaumet, Pomellato and Roberto Coin.
