maybe it was the looming typhoon or the absence of umbrella wielding
democracy protestors but the opening ceremony for watch and wonders 2015 seemed a little more low-key than last year’s iteration. Not only was in down to 12 brands from 13 (where were you Audemars Piguet ?) but many of us missed the nice lady serving Perrier jouet from flying trapeze. At least the champagne itself was still around. And Hugh Jackman showed up, apparently.
The brands that were present were still doing their best to dazzle the passers-by.
Van clef & Arpels boasted the most unfeasibly leggy models, while roger dubuis once again created the most left-field display space, turning a little patch of the Hong Kong Exhibition Centre into Middle Earth, all tunnels and burrows and hidey holes.
But what about the watches? Last year, it seemed as if many of the brands were undergoing an internal debate about exactly how to work their way into Asian hearts . Some seemed to be putting all their money on dragons, calligraphy and red lacquer; other operated on the basis that the was to miss the point, that the whole attraction of the big European brands to wealthy Asian consumers was their very European-ness.
It would appear , for the moment at least, that the question has been answered “The Asian market has reached a point of maturity” says Janek Deleskiewicz, the artistic director of Jaeger-LeCoultre
Even at the luxury end ,our customer are looking for something simpler, with added value