As the UK watch industry prepares to descend on Switzerland for Baselworld, WatchPro caught up with Graff Luxury Watches chief executive officer Michel Pitteloud to discuss the luxury trade show…
This is your third time at Basel, what makes Graff keep coming back to exhibit at the show?
BaselWorld brings together the finest luxury brands of the very highest calibre. We continue to refine and enhance our collections, elevating our exemplary designs and horological complications. This year we will unveil a specially curated collection of technical watches and striking jewellery watches incorporating rare coloured diamonds and gemstones.
What were your highlights from last year’s show?
Last year we unveiled The Fascination, a highly-unique transformable jewel incorporating 152.96 carats of the finest diamonds. We also launched a world premiere: our Diamond MasterGraff Structural Tourbillon Skeleton powered by the Graff Calibre 6, a proprietary movement featuring an exclusive skeletonised tourbillon-driven, hand-wound movement.
What is Graff focusing on for 2016?
There are new markets opening up for our business all the time, particularly in areas where acquiring diamonds and jewels are an intrinsic part of the culture or heritage. Already this year, we have launched a new store in Australia and this month we will open our first store in Paris situated on Place Vendôme. Designed by renowned architect Peter Marino, the store has a design aesthetic unique to Paris encompassing the finest bespoke fixtures, fittings and custom-designed furnishings, which provide the perfect environment for our unique jewels, collection pieces and luxury watches.
What are your trend predictions for the next six to twelve months?
We continue to see demand for unique designs incorporating exceptional gemstones. This trend can be seen across both our jewellery and watch collections.
