Growing luxury watch market

Never go out of style: Bitton says Graham brand’s philosophy is no-nonsense innovation, so even the most complicated watches have to be functional.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is becoming renowned for the luxury watch market, judging by the response at this year's The Art Of Time exhibition being held at Pavilion KL. It is the second such event organised by luxury watch retailer Swiss Watch Gallery here.

C. Emanuel Bitton, vice-president (sales) of Graham, one of the exhibiting brands at the exhibition, said growth in the sector had been rapid here. He said the Chronofighter collection, one of the brand's signature series, was popular with watch enthusiasts in this part of the world.

“It is the most important product line in Malaysia. A distinctive feature of pieces from this collection is the lever on the left side of the watch, a historical reference to the 1930s and 1940s when pilots needed a device that they could start, stop and reset easily without looking,” he explained.

A brand harking back to 1695, Graham is best known for its chronograph pieces. The Art Of Time exhibition ends on Sunday.

Other participating brands are Cartier, Bell & Ross, Girard-Perregaux, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Richard Mille, Tag Heuer, Ulysse Nardin and Vertu.

Lifestyle partners for the exhibition include UOB Bank, BMW, The Starand Glen Grant. The watch exhibition is also supported by Tourism Malaysia. For details, log onto www.swisswatchgallery.com.my.

-thestar online.