FINDINGS
COBRANDING AT 150: Tiffany & Co. and Patek Philippe have 150 reasons to celebrate: that’s the time in years the two have been working together.
Patek Philippe crossed the Atlantic soon after the company was founded in 1839 and started selling at Tiffany — based on a handshake agreement between founder Antoine Norbert de Patek and Charles Lewis Tiffany in 1851. To mark that moment, the companies joined forces last week and launched T150, a new, limited-edition watch that will carry both the Tiffany and Patek Philippe brand names on its dial.
Michael J. Kowalski, president and chief executive officer of Tiffany & Co., noted that 99 percent of Tiffany products bear only the Tiffany name, so, “for us, to have this partnership is unusual. Traditionally, we have not created limited editions.”
The T150 is based on Patek’s patented calendar movement that adjusts with 30 or 31 days and showcases the company’s signature phases of the moon. At 12, the watch features the Tiffany “T,” and the case’s back has an engraving of the Patek’s original Geneva store and the workshop facility shared by Tiffany.
There will be 450 watches in either 18-karat yellow, white and rose gold. The T150 will be available at Tiffany stores nationwide in November.
BRITISH INVASION: Lulu Guinness is coming downtown.
Known for feminine and whimsical luxe handbags, the English designer signed a lease for her first U.S. store at 394 Bleecker Street between West 11th and Perry Streets in New York.
“One of the reasons I was attracted to the West Village was because it has a London feeling to it,” said Michael Schultz, the company’s chief executive officer for the U.S. “The space, with its tin ceiling and bay windows, particularly reminds me of our stores in London.”
The 500-square-foot unit, which once housed incense store Life Visions, is expected to open next month.
PEARLS ON DISPLAY: This October, the American Museum of Natural History in New York will showcase “Pearls,” a comprehensive collection of pearls it organized with the Field Museum in Chicago.
The exhibit will offer visitors an inside look into the science of pearls. It also will showcase the history of pearls, from treatments in art and literature to history. A focus will be the way in which pearls have been used decoratively in objects, jewelry and fashion, including a selection of pearls worn by royalty.
The exhibit will open October 13 through April 14. It will then travel to the Field Museum for another six months.