New watch brand 88 Rue du Rhone, founded by Pierre and Elie Bernheim, the grandsons of Raymond Weil, had its global launch in London this week at an event held in Selfridges’ luxury watch room.
The brand, which has been two years in the making, is dubbed “a fresh concept of accessible luxury”, and includes Swiss made quartz and automatic timepieces for men and women with retail prices upwards of about £300.
Pierre Bernheim, co-founder of the brand, said: “We are delighted to launch 88 Rue Du Rhone on a worldwide exclusive with Selfridges as it is a brand name that is recognized internationally and is spoken about for its unique style, personality and its commitment to offering only the best in terms of luxury and innovative design.”
The event attracted a number of guests from the industry including David Coleridge from DM London, which operates the brand and watches in the Selfridges space.
88 Rue du Rhone is named after the prestigious Geneva shopping street, where the number 88 is missing. In its place there is a view to the Rhone river, with the image of swans on the Rhone and the number 88 becoming central to the brand’s marketing and branding.
Elie Bernheim, Pierre’s brother, added: “It is fantastic to finally see our brand fully realized and launched to the world.
“We felt that London was the perfect launch location, given the international reach of the capital and the attention that the city is receiving due to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the forthcoming Olympic Games. We are very much looking forward to seeing the response from the customers to our unique collection.”
Before the brand had even welcomed guests to the launch it sold its very first watch to a female shopper passing through Selfridges. A second watch was sold during the event.
The launch of the brand was revealed in WatchPro‘s June issue – our Watches of the Year edition – with the Bernheim brothers speaking exclusively with WatchPro editor Rachael Taylor.
