French watchmaker Michel Herbelin dropped the first name from its branding this year in an a move to make it feel more luxurious.
The thinking is that a single name, HERBELIN, has a more exclusive feel, rather like the way Coco Chanel went for the brand name CHANEL.
Also borrowing from the CHANEL playbook, HERBELIN has opened its first boutique in Paris as part of its 75th anniversary celebrations this year.
The 140 square metre store is located on Rue Bonaparte in the Left Bank Saint-Germain-des-Prés area of Paris that is best known as the cultural heart of the French capital.
It occupies two floors connected by a Haussmann-style staircase and is designed in the style of a Parisian loft apartment with large windows filling the space with light.
There are nods to other HERBELIN signatures such as a blond oak floor, reminiscent of a ship’s deck, that link to the design of its bestselling Newport nautical watch collection.
Customers are drawn into the retail space on the ground floor, but can have more intimate meetings upstairs where there is more of a private boudoir vibe.
“From the Antarès watch bar to the Newport/Cap Camarat lounge, complete with low tables and comfortable armchairs, as well as display cases sculpted in the shape of bells or designed to resemble tables, everything conveys an immediate sense of French excellence,” HERBELIN says.
HERBELIN is one of the premium exhibitors at this year’s WATCHPRO Salon, which takes place from November 11 to 12 at The Londoner on Leicester Square.
WATCHPRO Salon 2022 exhibitors and partners
WATCHPRO Salon is a showcase of prestige watchmakers where collectors, brands, retailers and press meet in 5-star luxury.
Back for a second time after a sensational debut in 2021, the two-day event takes place from November 11 to 12 at The Londoner, one of the capital’s most spectacular 5-star hotels on London’s Leicester Square.
ALLEMANO | ANORDAIN | BALL WATCH | BIANCHET | BOMBERG | BONHAMS | BYRNE WATCHES | CHARLES GIRARDIER | CYRUS | CZAPEK & CIE. | DOXA | EBAY | ELLIOT BROWN | ENCELADE 1789 | FRATELLO | GRAND SEIKO | HANHART | IKEPOD | JUNGHANS | LAURENT FERRIER | LUMINOX | MARATHON | MAURICE LACROIX | MINASE | HERBELIN | MONTRES LEROY | ORIS | PERRELET | RESERVOIR | REDBAR | SCATOLA DEL TEMPO | SEIKO | SEQUENT | SEVENFRIDAY | SHERPA | SINN | SPEAKE-MARIN | SQUALE | SWISS CAPSULE | SWISS KUBIK | THE DEVOY GROUP | VICTORINOX | WILLIAM WOOD WATCHES | ZEITWINKEL | ZODIAC WATCHES
