Watches of Switzerland dives deeper into indie brand offering

With Watches of Switzerland celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, the company is aiming to differentiate itself and is focusing more heavily on independent brands. It said this week that its Knightsbridge showroom will be the key location to find a selection of such labels.

The company explained that there’s “a growing interest and demand to elevate the offer of independent brands, which have grown in popularity”.

Knightsbridge will now house the “in-depth offering” of independent watch brands as it “was an obvious location to create this discovery centre and expand the selection of brands and by refreshing the layout, this is a great opportunity to introduce new brands to the showroom, creating a retail playground for watch collectors and enthusiasts alike”. 

It has added Arnold & Son, Bovet, Czapek, Gerald Charles, H.Moser & Cie, Jacob & Co, Louis Erard, Nivada Grenchen and Parmigiani Fleurier to the line-up there.

Craig Bolton, president of the group for the UK and Europe, said: “When we worked on this vision about a year ago, we knew that our clients would respond to a vast array of brands with different designs, price points and levels of notoriety. There are three big factors that we believe has driven the demand and interest in these exciting independent brands – the scarcity of some products, the timepieces these independent brands are producing and the distribution of these brands. There are fewer retailers able to offer these brands under one roof and we are delighted our Watches of Switzerland, Knightsbridge showroom has the best offering in Central London.”

In addition to this, the firm’s network of showrooms around the country will also offer clients “insights into this sector of watchmaking and craftsmanship with an enhanced offering of these brands and ability to requests these for clients if necessary”. 

And the retailer will be the only UK stockist for MB&F (the Swiss brand in which Chanel recently acquired a 25% stake) with a dedicated shop-in-shop in its Regent Street showroom while other regional showrooms will also be offering Piaget and Vacheron to local clientele.