Richemont, the conglomerate behind Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Montblanc, recently provided the clearest indication of the new world order in watches and jewellery.
Reporting its annual results to the end of March, the Swiss-South African group, which is the leader in the sector, posted a 9 per cent rise in sales to €10.2bn. The driver of that growth was not watches but “remarkable results” at Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. Sales rose 13 per cent amid “particularly strong demand” for jewellery.
The combination of a clampdown on corruption and on ostentatious buying in China that has hit watch sales, an increase in consumption by women in Asia that has boosted jewellery revenues and a trend of “branding” the fragmented jewellery industry has upended the world of “hard luxury”, generally defined as watches and jewellery.