Rihanna "Takes a bow" with Piaget

Rihanna's video "Take A Bow" is continuing to gain international success. I just watched her song on YOU TUBE and to date the video has been viewed an amazing 14 million times. 14 million times. The music video does not begin with Riyanna's face but Riyanna's watch - a Piaget Polo 18 carat gold watch. A couple minutes into the video Riyanna looks at her Piaget watch, and sings "Now its time to go." The crystal clear image of the Piaget's watch fills up the screen for a good three seconds - an eternity in music videos.
Piaget's gold watch makes its mark in this video in what ,I think, is a very clever and striking marketing campaign by Piaget.

Piaget Boosts Store Count, Jewelry Quotient

Piaget is pushing ahead with expansion in the face of economic turbulence and dire forecasts from some industry analysts.

The 134-year-old fine jewelry and watch firm, which is owned by Compagnie Financière Richemont, plans to boost its store count to 80 from 48 around the globe within five years and is increasing its focus on fine jewelry. The U.S. presents a large growth opportunity, said Larry Boland, president of Piaget North America.

"We're very optimistic for 2008," said Boland, adding that the firm has recorded double-digit growth in the U.S. since 2000, tripling the business.

His optimism contrasts with luxury market predictions from several experts. "The mood isn't good for spending," Cathy Leonhardt, managing director at Peter J. Solomon Co., said in January. "All levels of luxury spending are being affected — even the really affluent customer seems to be tightening up."

Piaget in January opened its first shop in Las Vegas, located in the new Palazzo resort. In May, Piaget is to launch a 900-square-foot boutique in South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa,
Calif. It also is searching for locations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas and Honolulu. There are three other Piaget stores in the U.S., a Manhattan flagship and in Florida's Bal Harbour and Palm Beach. Piaget wholly owns 70 percent on the stores in its retail network, with the rest done through distributors. Internationally, there are stores in cities such as Paris and Berlin.

The units are 800 to 2,000 square feet and are divided equally between fine
watches and jewelry. There is casual day jewelry in 18-karat gold and
diamonds, as well as high jewelry. Prices range from $800 for a simple
gold band to $1.8 million for a jeweled watch. The average sale is
$25,000.

"The boutiques always have a little bit more jewelry to them," Boland said. "The boutiques are where you can find the true base of the brand. In the States, it's most known for [its watches]. That's changing. We're getting better known for high jewelry."

One-of-a-kind pieces are a major initiative for Piaget. The firm has aggressively sought to dress celebrities in an effort to raise awareness of the category. Piaget was a sponsor of the Independent Spirit Awards the night before the Oscars and outfitted the likes of Javier Bardem and Lisa Kudrow.

Piaget's Newest addition, Slim and Stylish

Piaget is a watch maker I love. I may give it a hard time because it reminds me petite European man in flamboyant attire, but Piaget makes nice looking watches. Piaget came to the watch scene from a jewelers perspective, so everything had to look nice. Their watches each embody a degree of minimalism with subtle accents of top design flair. These are extremely attractive watches for people innately comfortable with their sense of taste. Flicking out their Piaget nonchalantly to tell the time, realizing it looks that good without expression.

The newest addition to the Piaget watch line family is the Piaget Altiplano Petit Seconds. That is a fancy way for saying that it is a three-handed watch with a small subsidiary seconds dials asymmetrically placed in the top left-hand corner, which is really the major appeal of this watch. Traditionally, Piaget watches have focused on detail orientated minimalist watches, with a high degree of symmetry using high quality materials. Look at most Piaget watches and you will discover platinum, gold, or white gold watches that are very easy on the eye with a distinct symmetrical appeal. Stepping away from this tradition, the Altiplano Petit Seconds throws an extra point of focus on the watch. Not just a mere sub-dial either, this seconds dial has a half circle adjoining the full circle. The effect is appealing, but it is unclear why. There is a degree of three-dimensionality that is created, as well as another semi-circle that add to the overall theme. Another effect is for the semi-circle to help “anchor” the subsidiary dial without it looking too misplaced on the face. Not being enough of a designer, the best comment I can make is that the placement is well-done and fitting of the Piaget name.

The name “Altiplano” literally means “high plain.” Whether this regards the “elevated” status of the watch and its design, or it refers to a geographic location best suited to appreciate this watch, it is a fittingly “high-class term.” The Altiplano is a very thin watch as just 2.5mm thick. To allow for this slim size, it has a manually wound movement, which requires winding from time to time. This however is an in-house movement and offers over 60 hours of power reserve. So you only have to wind the watch each couple of days. Piaget is uncommon in the jeweler class of watch makers that provide manufacture movements.

So here you have it, Piaget has filled the small yet open gap in its lineup of slim, stylish, yet slightly avant garde watches. What will they come up with next?

Have a look on our website at the Piaget watches we carry, along with hundreds of other high end luxury watches! http://www.thewatchery.com/