Couture Las Vegas Terminates Watch
Journal’s Popular Couture Time Watch Event
Journal’s Popular Couture Time Watch Event
For the past three years, Couture Time has been a popular show-within-a-show at the annual Couture watch and jewelry event in Las Vegas. Couture Time, sponsored by the prestigious Watch Journal Magazine, was thought by many to be the most important watch event in the United States.
Glen Bowen, publisher and editor-in-chief of Watch Journal, conceived of the Couture Time event as an environment where leading timepiece brands could meet face-to-face with leading retailers. For three years, that’s exactly what happened. Couture Time by Watch Journal™, held at the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel in conjunction with Couture Las Vegas, became an essential destination where the world’s top luxury watch brands could meet America’s premier jewelers and watch retailers.
The centerpiece of this weeklong event was the annual Couture Time Awards. This highly regarded watchmaking competition was the only event of its kind in the United States and provided a unique showcase for exhibiting watch brands at the show.
All that ended when Glen Bowen announced on October 3rd that Watch Journal Magazine’s three-year partnership with Couture had ended. In an open letter to participating watch brands, Bowen stated, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for you’re past participation in Couture Time by Watch Journal. It has been a pleasure to work with each of you and your teams and to help you get the most out of the show. Likewise, it has been a privilege and a pleasure to partner with Couture to create Couture Time by Watch Journal as a very special venue for watches.”
Effect on Watch Industry
The absence of Couture Time at the annual Couture show will be a big disappointment to many in the watch industry. Gevril Group President Samuel Friedmann, a regular Couture exhibitor, feels that the new owners of Couture Las Vegas didn’t give the show-within-a-show concept enough time. “Many American retailers do not make the expensive trip to Baselworld,” says Friedmann. “Couture Time and Watch Journal gave these people another alternative. If Couture had a little more patience, I am convinced that the watch show would have grown tremendously and become a major draw for both Couture and the entire watch industry.”
One can only speculate why Couture chose to sever its relationship with Watch Journal and discontinue the popular Couture Time show-within-a-show. For the over 80 watch brands that regularly attended the annual Couture show, Couture Time was an essential component of the Couture experience. Watch Journal Magazine is highly regarded as an industry authority by many watchmakers and the magazine’s participation gave Couture Las Vegas even more prestige within the watch industry.
It is too early to guess the extent to which the absence of Couture Time will impact the 2014 Couture show. Couture is still one of the important trade events of the year for North American jewelry retailers, but the loss of the Couture Time show-within-a-show will not go unnoticed by the watch industry.
About Gevril Group
Gevril Group is the exclusive US representative for select European watch brands, distributing and servicing luxury, fashion and sports timepieces at a wide range of price points. Gevril Group also operates a full-service watch repair department staffed by master Swiss watchmakers. Contact Gevril Group by email or by calling 845-425-9882.
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