Tiffany & Co are, of course, well renowned for their prestigious high-end jewellery. But, that is not all they produce, oh no! Did you know that they have 
actually been manufacturing watches for over 150 years. Famously, they gave President Franklin D. Roosevelt a watch as a birthday gift in 1945.
Swatch or Patek – hmm, let me think!
More recently, Tiffany have attempted to collborate with more well-known watch manufacturers to raise their profile in the market. This has had mixed results. Their first collaboration, with Swatch, ended in a disastrous falling out, ending in arbitration and Tiffany being ordered to pay Swatch $449 million for breach of contract.
Their next attempt was somewhat more successful, however. They have teamed up with Patek Philippe to sell Patek and co-branded watches in their New York flagship store.
The Future
But, not content with this, Tiffany are now making their own watches again, such as the CT60.
They are intending to expand their collection and, with their jewellery sales in decline, they are hoping to attract more female customers, historically in the minority when it comes to buying watches, with new diamond-adorned timepieces!
With watches currently only accounting for about 1% of the Company’s sales, they are hoping to grow this to around 10% within the next decade. Admirable ambition indeed, but this will take some doing in this hugely competitive market. Do it and they could be a real force to be reckoned with!
I truly did not know that Tiffany made watches! And they have been for 150 years?!
I have no doubt that the relationship with Swatch ended so quickly and poorly for Tiffany. I am truly interested in why they are attempting to piggy-back with another manufacturer rather than attempting to make their product better themselves. It seems to me that one might consider that when the last relationship ended so poorly. Do you agree?
A partnership with Patek Philippe is on a whole different level to Swatch and is more in keeping with the Tiffany image.
But, yes, making their own watches makes more sense.
Thanks for your comments.