Bernard Madoff’s Watch Collection Catches Quite A Bit At Auction

Bernard Madoff’s Watch Collection Catches Quite A Bit At Auction
Convicted fraudster Bernard Madoff’s possessions were auctioned off by the United States Marshal Service after he was sentenced to life in prison last year by a judge. Proceeds from the auction will go to pay off the victims of the Ponzi scheme fraud that Madoff was convicted of running which led to his prison sentence.
Part of Bernard Madoff’s watch collection was sold in the last auction held by the US Marshalls Service. This auction a Rolex Moonphase watch sold for sixty seven thousand five hundred US dollars. His Rolex Cosmograph Daytona fetched forty thousand dollars and a couple of Patek Philippe vintage watches collected fifty six thousand dollars and thirty seven thousand five hundred dollars respectively. A custom Tiffany Mantle clock also received a winning bid of nine thousand two hundred fity dollars.
Other items auctioned off include a Tabriz rug, A Tuscan landscape by Henry Twatchman and artist of the nineteenth century and an oil painting by American Impressionist Frederick Carl Frieseke . More interesting items auctioned off include Madoff’s shoes, slippers, socks and underpants.
Madoff is seventy two and is currently serving a life sentence in North Carolina, United States.

First Rolex Tower in the Middle East Unveiled

The First Rolex Tower in the Middle East Has Been Unveiled
On the thirteenth of November Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons announced the inauguration of the Rolex Tower – the first such tower branded by Rolex in the Middle East. The tower although not managed or owned by the watch manufacturer offers luxury apartments in Dubai, and stands at 235 meters high with 59 floors and is set to be completed on schedule at some time later this year. The glass sided structure is located in the heart of Dubai and is the result of fifty years of partnership between Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons and Rolex as the watch brands official distributer in India. The structure created by architects Skidmore, Owings and Merril who also designed Londons Canary Wharf features twenty five floors of two and three bedroom apartments, a luxury penthouse and thirty one floors of hight end commercial space right in the Dubai financial district. On the ground floor are high end retail spaces.
“More than half a century of working with Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons has confirmed that the Middle East is a key growth destination for the Rolex brand. The Rolex Tower, as the first of its kind in the region, reflects our shared commitment to a lifestyle encompassing precision, elegance and reliability,” Rolex Managing Director Bruno Meier added.

Ten Percent Surge in Luxury Watch Sales Predicted

A Ten Percent Surge in Luxury Watch Sales Has Been Predicted
The unexpected rapid influx of shoppers from the United States into luxury stores is good news for luxury watch manufacturers and retailers. Double digit growth in China along with rapid growth in India is fueling the worldwide market.
Bain & Company has just released the ninth edition of the bellwether “Luxury Goods Worldwide Market Study” which for the last nine years has been a very reputable forecast of the luxury goods market. According the study the luxury watch market will be rebounding as the global economic crises starts to balance out, and added influx from new markets in China and India should provide strong growth.
In the beginning of 2010 luxury item sales, which include luxury watches increased six percent in the first quarter and then over tripped to sixteen percent in the second quarter. It then increased another thirteen percent in the third quarter. Bain predicts even more growth well into 2011.
The study does show that the rebound in the luxury watch sales does highly depend on the performance of retail stores that are operated directly by the luxury brands. This is the channel that growth has been increasing the most, at nearly twenty percent per year.

New ISO Standard For Waterproofing Watches

To respond to the wide variety of water proofing standards in watches the International Standards Association has released an ISO standard for labeling watches as water resistant. The new International Standard – number 2010:22810 – gives manufacturers a set of criteria that they must adhere to in order for their watches to meet the qualifications in order to label themselves as water proof.
If a watch is labeled water resistant to a certain depth, eg a divers watches which is water resisitant to 200 meters (20 ATM) it means that the watch should be able to handle all aquatic activities to that depth without leaking.
The new standard was created due to a wide differential in the definitions of water proof and water resistant amongst watch manufacturers and the need of consumers to have a clear specification in this area. This standard clarifies the terminology and standards used.
“The new ISO standard represents a win-win situation for both industry and consumers,” said Vincent Grossenbacher, Secretary of the subcommittee that developed the new standard.
ISO 22810 replaces ISO 228 which was created in 1990 and has been outdates and had a ton of ambiguity in terminology as well as lacked criteria for newer technologies in watches.