Vacheron Constantin Sponsors Major Art Event and Unveils New Timepieces

Art lovers and watch lovers mingle inside the Vacheron Constantin Fifth Avenue boutique.

NEW YORK — Vacheron Constantin’s jewel box of a boutique was aglow on a recent cool, crisp evening. Inside, art enthusiasts mingled with timepiece lovers within the lightly colored space highlighted with dark wood tones, straight lines and minimal furnishings.

The March 2 gathering then moved a couple blocks north to the 1900 French Renaissance building that houses The Lotos Club, one of the oldest private literary establishments in the U.S. The building and its uniformed staff begs formality even though inside it is a cozy and comfortable space. Books of every conceivable subject were stacked from nearly floor to ceiling in shelves around the main dining room where the guests had dinner.

The guest at The Lotos Club.

The venerable Swiss luxury watch company held the gathering for two reasons:

First, it served as a preview for The Armory Show, an annual international contemporary and modern art fair that opened Thursday and runs till Sunday, in which Vacheron Constantin is a sponsor. Prior to dinner, Paul Morris, the founding director of the show, gave guests a preview of the art that will be on display and a presented a brief history of its modest beginnings at the former Gramercy Hotel to its move to the 69th Street Regiment Armory and finally to its current home at Piers 92 and 94.

Metiers D’Art Les
Univers Infins Fish

The second reason was to unveil the newest Vacheron Constantin timepiece collections to its loyal U.S. customers as well as art buyers—in particular, considering the brand’s sponsorship of an art event, the Metiers D’Art Les Univers Infins collection. It features three artistic dials based on the work of famed Dutch graphic artist, M.C. Escher and his use of tessellation—which uses a two-dimensional plane with a repeating geometric shape with no overlaps and no gaps. The Dove Watch, Fish Watch and Shell Watch employ several techniques including cloisonné enameling, gran feu champlevé gemsetting, engraving and guilloché work to create the repeating images.

Patrimony Traditionnelle
14-Day Tourbillon

Also making its premier U.S. appearance was the Patrimony Traditionnelle 14-Day Tourbillon, featuring the longest power reserve of any tourbillon in creation today, according to Vacheron Constantin, and is also the first Vacheron Constantin watch to be approved based on the new 2011 Hallmark of Geneva criteria.

Malte Small Seconds

In addition, there was the newly redesigned Malte collection, introduced in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the tonneau-shaped watch.

The timepieces, which were first unveiled two months earlier in Switzerland, were set up in displays throughout the dining room. Later they were presented on trays for the guests to view.

Survey: Ultra-Affluent Consumers are Spending Less at Luxe Department Stores

Barneys New York flagship store

Barneys New York, Nordstrom, and Bergdorf Goodman emerged as the top three luxury department store destinations among those with annual incomes of at least $250,000, according to a recent survey by Unity Marketing. However, a look back at the previous year shows ups and downs among ultra-affluent patronage of these retailers:

* Barneys New York, which currently attracts some 22 percent of ultra-affluent consumers, has weathered two quarters in the past year when patronage dipped as low as 16 percent. 

* Nordstrom ranks as the second most popular destination, however, its share of purchase among ultra-affluents dropped by more than 5 percentage points from the fourth quarter 2010 to first quarter 2011. 

In fact, among the seven leading luxury department stores included in Unity Marketing's luxury tracking survey, only one—Saks Fifth Avenue—captured a larger share of ultra-affluent shoppers this quarter as compared with last quarter, according to the survey titled, “The Luxury Report 2011: Ultimate Guide to the Luxury Consumer Market.”

Luxe department store patronage among ultra-affluents is down after peaking in third quarter 2010. The survey from the Stevens, Pa.-based luxury market research firm defines ultra affluents as those with annual household incomes of $250,000 and above, the wealthiest 2 percent of U.S. households who spend the most in the consumer economy.

Even more striking is the decline in the percentage of ultra-affluents shopping in these luxe department stores overall, said Pam Danziger, Unity Marketing president. While the percentage of ultra-affluents shopping in luxury department stores peaked at nearly 75 percent in the third quarter 2010, it has declined since, leveling off at about 70 percent. She says that relatively small declines in patronage on a percentage basis translate into big drops across the market. Regardless of ultra-affluents' favorite luxe department stores, it is clear that nearly a third of these wealthiest Americans are not passing through any of their doors each quarter.

“These top retailers—who are known for being destinations for the wealthiest customers—can serve as both a model and a cautionary tale for others who would like to operate in this space,” Danziger said. “While the popularity of each store waxes and wanes quarter-to-quarter, the overall trend is that ultra-affluents are slowing their pace of shopping in the luxury department store sector. If the downward trend among ultra-affluents continues, each of these stores may have to rethink their approach if they are to remain a compelling and attractive destination for the wealthy.”