What is it, resign as CEO season? Just the other day I wrote about how A. Lange & Sohne lost their CEO, and now the same is happening to Swiss watch brand Baume & Mercier. I still know them by their "original" name "Baume et Mercier." Guess that "&" was put in there for us Americans. These resignations are starting to look awfully fishy if you ask me.

Michel Nieto, the CEO of Baume & Mercier just called it quits after being at Baume & Mercier since 2002. Just like A. Lange & Sohne, Baume & Mercier is part of the Richemont Group, and just like A. Lange & Sohne's loss of their CEO Fabian Krone, Richemont Group identified the reason for Nieto's resignation as a "strategic disagreement." Not that I don't believe PR speak, but either Richemont is handing out a canned response or we are going to see a major change in the organization of the group's brands in the coming months. I can't speculate if this is good or bad, but I anticipate change is 'ah comin' in the luxury watch world. Aside from the Swatch Group, Richemont Group is the largest collection of luxury watch brands.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

It was sad news to hear that Fabian Krone, the charming and charismatic CEO of luxury watch company A. Lange & Sohne has stepped down, and left the company. On numerous occasions A. Lange & Sohne has been heralded as the best Germany luxury brand, as well as best German watch brand. I've been to their factory and viewed many of their watches. I can easily attest to all of this being more than mere hyperbole.

While the watch industry has been down, and will be down for the next few years, there are no signs that Lange is hurting disproportionately. Plus, being under the wing of the Richemont Group certainly helps curb economic issues. So why did Mr. Krone leave the company? Hard to say, but reports suggest disagreements between him and others regarding the future direction of the company. Who Fabian disagreed with and over what issues are still a mystery to me. I have a feeling that it may be part of the stifling effect Lange experienced as being part of the Richemont Group. Though, this is speculation. When you are part of a group of brands, the problem is that issues can occur when brands compete with one another or wish to do something that the parent company does not want. For this reason there may have been pressure for Lange to act or not act in various ways when it came to future products or other company directions.

For the mean time the company COO Jerzy Schaper will take over as interim CEO until a replacement is found. Having shaken the man's hand in the past - I wish him success and prosperity in his next career move.

Via Perpetuelle.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Welcome to our new feature, "10 Luxuries." For each installment a notable figure in the world of luxury, tastemaker or stylish personality will tell us about the 10 necessary luxuries they simply cannot do without. Related quotes and images of each item can be found in the gallery.

Perry Oosting became president of Vertu, the world's leading luxury mobile phone manufacturer, earlier this year. He joined the company with extensive experience in the luxury industry via senior roles held at several blue chip brands including Bulgari, Prada, Gucci and Escada.Vertu uses the finest materials from the world of watchmaking, automotive design, aeronautics, and jewelry to create truly unique mobile phones of unparalleled craftsmanship and exclusivity, such as the new Ascent Ti Carbon Fiber. Vertu is also the only phone in the world to ever receive a hallmark from the Swiss Assay Office, the organization that guarantees the quality of the world's finest watches. In the gallery, Oosting reveals his 10 essential luxuries, from his favorite hotel, watch and car to shoes, wine, writing instrument and more, and tells us what makes them a must.

Swiss watch maker Wyler Geneve has just laid off all of its employees save for their CEO. While not officially closing shop, the company says it is going into "hibernation mode" and will attempt to wait out the "crisis" that is going on in the watch industry. This refers to the generally awful economy dissuading consumers from investing in many of the more expensive or less known brands out there. It is unclear what will occur with the existing Wyler watch inventory out there or how existing customers will receive service for the expensive luxury watches.

Wyler attempted to make headlines by producing the first all carbon neutral watches out there. This was done via the purchase of carbon offsets that I discussed as being good-natured but not particularly impressive. Wyler CEO Ryan St. George, is the only remaining employee, and it is unclear what his role will be once the rest of the employees have left. The brand's "deep freeze" will start in the coming months. A question arises as to what Wyler did wrong having reasonably nice watches that are certainly unique. The issue could be market penetration, distribution, or consumer interest. There is also the matter of pricing, which was optimistic to say the least. During the "bull economy" of the watch industry you had new brands popping up all over the place. Many with good ideas, and all with 'impressively' high prices. The market reality has finally caught up with them and they must learn the hard lesson that the market, not the manufacturer, determines what people will actually pay.

Via Perpetuelle via Business Montres (in French).

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

He has been everything from controversial to overly confident, but he made watch company Romain Jerome what it is today - successful. Abruptly, the board of directors at Romain Jerome ousted the now former CEO Yvan Arpa a few days ago. Officially it might have been that Yvan Arpa "resigned" but local voices agree on the fact that he was forced out. He, as well as four members of his management team are out - a total purging of previous control. A new CEO and management team has already been assigned. It is unclear why this occurred, expect for the fact that Mr. Arpa has a reputation for being "difficult to control" and highly "characterful" in his management style. Who else could come up with some of the ideas that Yvan had, such as the Romain Jerome Titanic DNA and Moon Dust DNA watch lines.

Concord and I have had a funny little brief history as I have not been as kind to their watch designs as they would have hoped for. I reviewed such watches at their "$$$,$$$" priced Quantum Gravity Tourbillon with less than jovial enthusiasm. Concord even responded to me via their CEO Vincent Perriard who admirably defended the brand, and his ideas. It was a sign of his dedication to his position and the brand that he helped rebuild. Now that dedication has waned and Mr. Perriard has resigned from Concord, to be effective as soon as possible. He will now take the helm at TechnoMarine, a wholly different type of watch company fitting into a lower end segment with much higher volume production.

I have to ask myself whether this move was prompted by Mr. Perriard's outgrowing of Concord, or vice versa. There have been many critics (such as myself) of where Concord strayed during its "re-birth." Others seemingly loved it as a few of the watches even received design awards. Though I suppose not all was well, and now the critics may have prevailed as Concord might have the possibility to offer arguably more "marketable" watches under new leadership (as of now still undecided). I can't speak as to the sentiments on each side of the table, but I sense a degree of "bad blood" as it appears Perriard ditched camp before his time was due - leaving Concord floundering to fill the position and delicately plan its future. We will see what types of new ideas Perriard can breathe into TechnoMarine that has traditionally enjoyed a fair amount of market success.

Via WorldTempus (in French).

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tourneau is the largest chain of watch retailers in the world with their largest store in Las Vegas in the Caesar's Palace Forum Shops, and headquartered in New York City. Like all retail watch stores, Tourneau has been hit hard by the economic slump due to drastically decreased luxury watch demand. On the plus side, they finally started to sell (some) watches online via their website. Notable is the sale of Tag Heuer watches online. Whether or not related to rapidly changing business environment of watch sales that prior to 2000 (or so) was more or less the same for 100 years, Tourneau's CEO of 18 years Howard Levitt will step down at the end of 2009.

His term might end sooner, as he will stick around until the company finds a replacement which might come earlier than the end of the year. Tourneau really became a focal point of luxury watch brands having such a vast presence all over the world, and having so many different brands for sale (which differ by location). Levitt was of course instrumental in that fact. Not sure if he was also responsible for Tourneau's in-house brand of less expensive watches which sort of serve as a consolation item to people who step in to the store not able to afford most of the popular brand watches but still wanting something.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Since 2001 the very flamboyant Thierry Nataf has been at the helm of Zenith watches, part of the LVMH luxury group. He has undoubtedly had a profound effect on the brand, though his 'touch' has been controversial, especially in terms of marketing and the focus on extremely niche products for what was supposed to be a more mainstream luxury brand. The recent economic downturn has effectuated in an over 25% decrease in Zenith watch sales - something no one is happy about.

The reason for Nataf's departure from the CEO position at Zenith watches is unclear, and rumors indicate that he will remain at LVMH, but in a different group (who watch brands include Tag Heuer, Hublot, Dior, and Louis Vuitton). The successor who will lead Zenith through this difficult economic period has not yet been announced. It will no doubt take sometime before the new leader's effect on the brand is observable, but I hope that LVMH is wise enough to place someone capable of reinvigorating Zenith's former glory.

Via WorldTempus (in French).

Ariel Adams publishes the popular watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

According to the Wall Street Journal, only a few days into her new gig, Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts said that she wants to see more diversity in the label. Their signature plaid, a.k.a. "check," is a bit overexposed at the moment due to its tremendous popularity over the past few years and the rise in counterfeit or look-a-like goods. They're not eliminating the check, but they're scaling it back already. For example, their new fall quilted jackets (the one pictured is $495) all feature solid colors and the square-toe pumps ($365) have only the smallest amount of checked piping.

The general plan is to always keep the check, but to promote other brand symbols, such as a mounted knight that was trademarked by the company over a century ago. The company has also hired several new designers to focus on adding accessories to the brand, giving consumers options beyond just clothes.