The new stand-alone Rolex boutique is housed in the former Odd Fellows Hall, a landmark built in 1897.
Swatch Group Sees Turnaround in 2018
The watch company recorded a 5 percent increase in net sales following two straight years of decline.

Biel/Bienne, Switzerland--Swatch Group has reversed two straight years of sales decline and is reportedly bullish on 2018 heading into the Baselworld show.
In its annual report released Wednesday, the Swiss watch company said its Watch & Jewelry segment, which includes watch brands like Breguet, Longines and Tissot plus its Tourbillon and Hour Passion stores, posted 7 percent year-over-year sales growth at current exchange rates.
Growth was particularly strong in the second half of the year, with fourth quarter sales up 15 percent and December coming in as the second-best month in company history.
Including production (Swatch Group Assembly, ETA and Nivarox-FAR, etc.), Swatch Group’s net sales were up 5 percent over 2016 to 7.69 billion Swiss francs ($8.14 billion).
Consolidated net profit increased 27 percent to $755 million Swiss francs ($799 million), with a net margin of 9.5 percent, compared with 7.9 percent in 2016.
The company said its dividend proposal matches that offered in 2015, which was a “highly successful year” board Chair Nayla Hayek said in a letter to shareholders included in the report.
Swatch Group’s 2017 sales gain follows two straight years of declines. The company saw sales drop 11 percent in 2016—a year in which Swiss watch exports as a whole fell 10 percent in both number of units and value—and 3 percent in 2015.
Swatch Group ended the year with 35,360 employees globally, down from 35,750 the previous year.
The watch company’s annual report included brief updates on all its markets worldwide.
For the United States, Caribbean and Latin America, Swatch Group noted that its Caribbean teams were integrated into its U.S. team.
Breguet reopened its flagship store, which is now located at the St. Regis Hotel on Fifth Avenue in New York, and Blancpain moved its New York flagship to 697 Fifth Ave.
Omega opened a pop-up boutique called “Her Time,” which carried only women’s watches, on Fifth Avenue in December, and Swatch opened a new store on Powell Street in San Francisco.
The brand also collaborated with New York-based watch website/retailer Hodinkee to launch the Sistem 51 Hodinkee Vintage 84, an ‘80s-inspired mechanical Swatch watch that sells for $150.
The Latest

The Brilliant Earth ambassador co-designed a diamond medallion featuring meaningful symbols.

The three-day watch collector show, coming this October, will feature 44 exhibiting brands, as well as a new dinner experience.

Jewelers of America is leading the charge to protect the industry amidst rising economic threats.

Wrap jewelry is more than just a trend; it’s the perfect motif for the coming season of layering, scarves, and pumpkin spice.


Sriram “Ram” Natarajan is now GIA’s senior vice president of laboratory operations and is based out of the lab’s headquarters in Carlsbad.

The one-of-a-kind collar represents the beauty of imperfection and the strength to rebuild.

As a leading global jewelry supplier, Rio Grande is rapidly expanding and developing new solutions to meet the needs of jewelers worldwide.

Three C-suite executives, including former CEO Tom Nolan, have resigned as part of what the company describes as a “transition.”

The retailer, which recently filed Chapter 11, inked a deal to sell its North American business and intellectual property.

Target CEO Brian Cornell will step down in February and be replaced by the company’s chief operating officer, Michael Fiddelke.

The group met with the president's senior trade advisor earlier this week to express the industry’s concerns about the effects of tariffs.

The pop-up will display this year's Tiffany & Co. Singles Championship trophies along with a diamond-encrusted tennis racket and ball.

The New Hampshire-based store has expanded to Boston, propelled by the success of Alex Bellman’s TikTok page, “The Truthful Jeweler.”

The latest incident happened Monday at a store in Oakland, California, continuing a pattern JSA first warned about last month.

The new aqua green New York Harbor Limited Edition II is the watchmaker’s second collaboration with the Billion Oyster Project.

Participants who attend any three Rings of Strength events will be awarded a special medal.

The investment company, founded by Dev Shetty, has acquired the struggling miner and its assets, including the Lulo mine in Angola.

Smith shares wisdom he gleaned from a podcast he was listening to one morning while being walked by his dog, a Malshi named Sophie.

The counterfeit Van Cleef & Arpels jewels would have been worth more than $30 million if genuine.

The MJSA Mentor & Apprenticeship Program received the Registered Apprenticeship Program designation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Casio executive and watch enthusiast Masaki Obu is the new general manager of its U.S. timepiece division.

Barabash, Verragio’s client relations representative, was a vital member of the team and is remembered as being warm and full of life.

Originally introduced in 1992, the “Dot” collection is back with a capsule featuring five archival designs and three new creations.

Allison-Kaufman has received the honor for the fourth year in a row.

Taylor Swift dons the vibrant pair in new promotional imagery for her upcoming album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” set to release in October.

Its investment in micromechanics expert Inhotec will preserve skills essential to the watchmaking industry as a whole, said the company.