Arguably the most eye-catching launch from TAG Heuer at Watches & Wonders was the Carrera Plasma adorned in sparkly lab-grown diamonds.
Unveiled alongside a solar-charged quartz watch, billed as a contribution to fighting climate change, the Plasma’s manufactured diamonds look like TAG Heuer leaning into issues that appeal to a younger customer.
The company’s CEO, Frédéric Arnault, is well versed in the issues; being under 30 years-of-age himself.
TAG Heuer’s parent company, LVMH, must like what it sees in lab-grown diamonds because the group’s venture capital arm, LVMH Luxury Ventures, has invested in Lusix, the company that provided the gems for the Carrera Plasma.
Lusix is owned by Israeli billionaire Benny Landa, who revealed at last week’s JCK that LVMH Luxury Ventures was the most prominent, though not necessarily the largest, investor in a $90 million funding round.
Asked at the JCK press conference whether other LVMH brands — Hublot or Zenith, perhaps — would use Lusix’s products, Mr Landa declined to be specific.
“I cannot speak on behalf of LVMH, but I would ask myself why would a luxury brand make a financial investment? There are obviously very good reasons,” he said.
