Some of you must have seen the ads of the ‘Strings of Freedom’ concert of Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Clive Carroll to be held on Thursday, Aug 28. Khimji’s Watches Division, which is the presenter, has announced the introduction of 3 new brands in Oman; one in the category of writing instruments (CARAN d’ACHE OF SWITZERLAND), the second in the category of Watches ( de GRISOGONO) and the third in the category of mobiles , oops !!!! ( catch VERTU, the worlds most expensive mobile phones calling themselves that – they prefer to be known as jewellery or accessories – sounds snobbish, but then that’s what all premium luxury brands are all about).
Pen connoisseurs will be very familiar with CARAN d’ACHE; it is a Swiss manufacturer of high-quality writing instruments, fine art products, and accessories. It was founded in Geneva in 1924 when Arnold Schweitzer purchased the Ecridor Pencil Factory who named his new company after Caran d’Ache, the nickname of a French satiric political cartoonist from Russia (karandash meaning pencil in Russian). In 1929 Carl Schmid invented the Fixpencil, one of the first Clutch Pencils which has been trademarked by Caran d’Ache.
The De Grisogono brand was started in 1993 by Fawaz Gruosi. Orginally, the company designed and produced jewellery and everyday items such as sunglasses which were then sold in a boutique located in Geneva. Gruosi introduced the use of black diamonds into many of his designs, which at the time was very unusual. With the success that followed he was quickly able to open boutiques in London, Gstaad, Rome, Paris, St. Moritz, Kuwait, Moscow and Hong Kong – all within the first 5 years. It wasn’t until the year 2000 that Fawaz developed his first watch collection for De Grisogono, the Instrumento No Uno, the watch set the standard for the now highly successful brand.
Vertu is a British-based manufacturer and retailer of luxury mobile phones. The company is an independently run, wholly-owned subsidiary of the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia. The concept of the company is to make mobile phones in the same vein as luxury watch manufacturers like Rolex, IWC etc. One of the most expensive models it has ever made is the Signature Cobra, at US$310,000 (~€217,000);
The mobiles themselves are made from very expensive materials such as gold, sapphire (for the mobile screen), rubies (for the bearings) and fine leather. Plus, each mobile is hand-made in its factories in United Kingdom. Vertu’s Principal Designer is Frank Nuovo.
To keep the value of the brand, Vertu mobiles are only available in its own branded stores, leading department stores such as Harrods and Selfridges in London, and authorised retailers. Vertu’s flagship store opened in 2002 in Paris and then soon after in Singapore.
One of the services when one acquires a Vertu mobile, is a year free concierge service called “Vertu Concierge”. It is accessed through a special button, the “Concierge key” at the side of every phone. The service comprises a team of assistants to help the owner around the clock almost anywhere in the world.
Exciting times for Khimji’s Watches!!
