An overview of Kyiv’s luxury watch boutiques
In an era when everyone has a mobile to check the time, watches lose their function as merely mechanisms for measuring time. Today they are part of image and a matter of prestige.
In a world striving for luxury at all costs, a watch should be a real work of art, an expensive jeweled accessory, elegant and miniature.
Now Hollywood stars and other top celebrities are seen in magazine advertisements or on billboards, sporting precious time pieces around their wrists as if to say: “Buy this for yourself, and you’ll be like me.”
Indeed, such an offer is not easy to resist.
Ukrainians prefer multifunctional, complicated mechanical watches, sometimes in gold and platinum with diamonds.
The big spenders are becoming more and more experienced in buying luxury products – Audemars Piguet, Breguet, Chopard, Francois-Paul Journe, Girard-Perregaux, Korloff, Perrelet, Ulysse Nardin, Vacheron Constantin, and other brands are the most welcomed names among the Ukrainian beau monde.
Among the leaders of the Ukrainian luxury watches is Noblesse, the retailer offering several multi-brand boutiques, carrying several dozen brands.
They include Audemars Piguet, Ulysse Nardin, Franck Muller, Jaeger-LeCoultre, CVSTOS, Roger Dubuis, IWC, Zenith, Breitling, Pierre Kunz, Martin Braun, Backes & Strauss, Krieger, Maranello, Carl F. Bucherer, Baume & Mercier, Chronoswiss, Jorg Hysek, deLaCour, Jaquet Droz, Graham, Van Der Bauwede, Jacob & Co, Corum, Omega, Longines, and Rado, among others.
Noblesse offers all these brands at Basel, Noblesse, Avenue and Consul boutiques and the Ulysse Nardin monobrand boutique, with the complete collection of this prominent brand, including its outstanding Trilogy of Time collection.
Located at Chervonoarmiyska Street near Olimpiyskiy shopping center, the Korloff boutique boasts an interior design concept of a combined art gallery and an exclusive jewelry boutique, fashioned after the Korloff boutiques in France, Europe, and the US.
A legendary treasure is nestled in Korloff jewelry house – the 88-carat Korloff Noir, the biggest black diamond in the world.
The legend suggests that it brings happiness, good luck and prosperity to all those coming into contact with it.
Today Korloff distributes its fine jewelry, Swiss watches, diamonds, haute couture and accessories through more than 52 exclusive boutiques worldwide.
The Korloff boutique in Kyiv boasts unique architecture that aptly matches its image-strong vertical lines and its logo, the back-to-back “K.”
Korloff provides an inimitable range of fine lacquer jewellery, the most exquisite unique range of timepieces, applying the principles of the purest Swiss tradition.
Korloff watches are made in Bienne, Switzerland and all jewels are shaped by hand.
The first Bovet boutique opened its doors to lovers of fine luxury watch-making last September on the premises of the new Park Hyatt, on the Sofiyivska Square.
The boutique provides an exclusive presentation of Bovet’s most prestigious timepieces.
The emblematic colors black and red are expressed in a variety of materials such as speckled marble from China, a country where Bovet established itself in 1822, during the 1800s, as the most well-known luxury Swiss brand among the imperial court.
Bovet Fleurier Collection bears the features of Bovet’s 19th century style – the sculpted bow and fluted crown on the natural axis of a watch at 12 o’clock, blued steel serpentine hands and the domed dial of fired enamel.
Fleurier cases are made in rose gold, white gold or platinum and are available in 28mm, 34mm, 39mm, 42mm and 44mm diameters.
The Sportster’s case, in steel, gold, platinum or titanium, has a screw-in sapphire-crystal caseback and is water-resistant up to 1000 meters.
The Haute Horlogerie chronograph movement with a large date at noon is decorated in Cotes de Geneve and the blued screws follow 19th-century traditions.
The interior of Chopard boutique offer its clientele recognizable surroundings, being the trademark of the brand all over the world: wood-paneled walls, hand parquetry-worked flooring, silk-covered seats and antique mirrors.
The Chopard boutique looks luxurious and beautiful, in the familiar Chopard decor that bears the signature of Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele, the vice-president of Chopard Switzerland. Recently, Chopard launched limited-edition Elton John watches to benefit the foundation.
Happy Diamonds line of ladies diamond watches will perfectly suit for evening wear and special occasions.
The Chopard Happy Sport ladies’ collection features timepieces that unite sporty style with precious stones and bright colors.
Chopard Haute Horlogerie line confirms Chopard’s status as the master of haute horlogerie.
For a distinct ladies jewelry timepiece, pick a watch from the Chopard Ice Cube line, that offers a choice of bracelet colors and dial materials: diamonds, yellow gold or white gold.
While the ladies in Piaget boutique can go crazy over rings, charm bracelets, necklaces, pendants and stunning wedding jewelry, the men are likely to get excited browsing through an equally extensive range of accessories such as rings, chains and watches.
The Altiplano watch collection is all about purity and classicism, with a contemporary diameter and generous dial.
Miss Protocole ladies diamond watch line present elegance at its maximum, set with diamonds, shining and seductive. It’s both fashionable and refined, easily adapted for every season.
Nowadays, Piaget has a new way of making a watch uniquely yours, it bears your fingerprint rendered in diamonds.
You can go to Piaget boutique, have an impression of your fingerprint made and then it will be shipped off to their jewelers in Geneva where your distinctive pattern of whorls and swirls is copied in brilliant cut diamonds and white gold.
The pattern is available as a watch or as a pendant. Piaget has created a unique Altiplano watch with a dial design based on H.S.H Prince Albert II fingerprint.
Founded in France in 1847, Cartier is a renowned creator of functional and luxurious everyday objects.
Classic Cartier watches, earrings, brooches, writing instruments, bracelets and rings sparkle at Kyiv Cartier boutique.
The classic, minimalist decor of the show window call the attention of every passerby. Inside the boutique, chairs and showcases are also simple and modern.
On the wall a monochrome photo of Cartier taken in the early 1900s is a reminder of the long history of the French luxury jeweler.
The work of architect-designer Bruno Moinard, this boutique transposes the light, harmony and comfort of French salons that evoke the history of Cartier.
Long regarded as the single most important and influential watch design of the 20th century, today its watches are Swiss-made with French high style.
The “Tank,” “Santos,” and “Baignoire” lines were all created nearly 100 years ago. The common belief has always been that Cartier is geared more for the women. One model that has done extremely well for men is the “Roadster” and “Roadster Chronograph”.
Just recently, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the “Santos”, Cartier unveiled the “Santos 100”. The “Santos 100” and the “Santos 100 XXL” continue in popularity. Newly released “Ballon Bleu de Cartier” and “La Dona de Cartier” are already frequently asked for.
Korloff (72 Chervonoarmiyska, 201-6459)
Bovet (Hotel Hyatt Regency, 5A Tarasova, 581-1555)
Chopard (11A Horodetskoho, 279-0222)
Piaget (4 Zankovetskoyi, 279-4658)
Cartier (17/11 Horodetskoho, 6A Zankovetskoyi, 461-7956)
Noblesse (2 Chervonoarmiyska, 234-193212 Luhova, shopping center Karavan, 206-4393)
Ulisse Nardin (4 Hrushevskoho, 278-4722)
Louvre (2 Muzeyniy Provulok, 278-1094)
Damiani (2 Chervonoarmiyska, 234-6245)
Consul (23 Moskovskyi Prospect, 537-6763)
Basel (114 Chervonoarmiyska, 528-3385)
Avenue (18/48 Saksahanskoho, 289-5321)
