sold

Backes & Strauss Royal Berkeley 43 Bespoke Limited Edition $1.5 Million Watch Sold

Filed under: Jewelry, Timepieces / Watches

A watch like this is proof the ultra-high end jewelry watches aren't just for show. London based Backes & Strauss just sold the first (of five) limited edition Royal Berkeley 43 Bespoke watches (wait, what is bespoke about it?). Pieces like this are made one at a time - to order. I guess that is sort of bespoke. Actually, it has to do with the custom cut of 44 of the diamonds. In a Berkeley cases, the watch is 43mm wide and are totally covered in diamonds. The start of this piece is the price, which is about 1.5 million Swiss Francs.

The first watch was just sold in Monaco (no surprise there), and celebration at the brand likely ensued. The watch was due to be a showpiece at the SalonQP watch show in London this November, but obviously will be unavailable. No time to collect another 106.45 carats of diamonds. Yes, you read that right, and this is with 330 diamonds. The case and bracelet of the watch are in 18k white gold, which you are unlikely to see under all the diamonds. Inside the watch is a Swiss automatic movement. The hour indicators on the dial are placed on the sapphire crystal, to allow for a fully diamond covered dial. The sale of the watch proves that a market for ultra high-end timepieces (especially jewelry ones) still exists.

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

Tags: 1.5, 43, backes strauss, bespoke, diamonds, millon, royal berkeley, sold, watch

Bedat & Co. Watch Company Saved: Sold To Malaysian Firm

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

In January, rumblings from the watch industry were that Bedat & Co. was soon to close its doors. As such I reported the eminent closure of the watch company here. Owned by the Gucci group of brands, Bedat & Co. seemed to be another in a long line of economy afflicted watch makers.

News out of Milan yesterday reported that Bedat & Co. has apparently been saved from death. While the future of the brand is unclear (as well as the terms of the agreement), Bedat & Co. has been sold to Luxury Concepts Watches & Jewelry, a Malaysian based firm who apparently has what it takes to keep the brand up and running. I imagine they received it for a very fair price as it was 'be sold or die' for the luxury watch maker. Luxury Concepts is a luxury brand manager and retailer/distributor network with current presence in at least Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Their brand portfolio is impressive with niche brands such as Hermes, Romain Jerome, Hysek, Pierre DeRoche, along with several others. In addition, Luxury Concepts acted as a distributor and dealer for Bedat & Co. watches, so it makes sense that with their knowledge of the brand, they have the knowledge to keep the brand alive and thriving. Luxury Concepts will maintain operations for the brand and continue watch production.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: Bedat, bought, Co, luxury concepts, luxuryconcepts, malaysian, number 7, Number7, sold, timepiece, watch