Watches in Pairs Are Popular Among Couples in Asia

Watch brands and collectors are both enjoying a bit of matchy-matchy action right now as his-and-her looks in timepieces are turning up everywhere. Piaget plans to celebrate the coming Chinese New Year with a special collection of eight high jewelry and métiers d’art watches — four masculine and four feminine — scheduled to be released in December, with prices on request. The designs nod to the dragon and the phoenix, traditional Chinese symbols for male and female. (And, 2024 also happens to be the Year of the Dragon.) In October,…

China May Ban Clothes That Hurt People’s Feelings. People Are Outraged.

In the 1980s, people in China could land themselves in trouble with the government for their fashion choices. Flared pants and bluejeans were considered “weird attire.” Some government buildings barred men with long hair and women wearing makeup and jewelry. Patrols organized by factories and schools cut flared pants and long hair with scissors. It was the early days of China’s era of reform and opening up. The Communist Party was loosening its tight control over society little by little, and the public was pushing the limits of self-expression and…

In China, It’s Time to Splurge Again, and the Luxury Industry Is Relieved

This time last year, Shanghai — China’s capital of fashion and luxury — was in the throes of a ruthlessly enforced Covid lockdown. The city’s glittering high-end malls and avenues lined with flagship stores stood practically empty. Today it is a different story. Huge crowds on a recent weekend flocked to top retail destinations on or near Nanjing Road, the hub of glamour in China ever since the country’s first large department stores began to open there in 1917. “I splurge more extravagantly,” Sunny Zhang, 24, said as she waited…

In China, Luxury Shopping Faces Ongoing Headwinds

This article is part of our special section on the DealBook Summit that included business and policy leaders from around the world. Toward the end of 2021, a glittering luxury shopping center called Taikoo Li Qiantan opened its doors in Shanghai. The 120,000-square-meter center (the equivalent to a stretch of 17 soccer pitches) is made up of nine buildings, landscaped gardens and stores from Western brands such as Balenciaga, Bulgari, Cartier, Gucci, Hermès and Tiffany & Company. The expectation for this colossal state-of-the-art mall in China’s commercial capital, owned by…

Why Bragging About Your Wealth In China Can Get You Censored

He started by exploring the sauna, built into the palatial bathroom of the hotel’s presidential suite. Then the video blogger moved on to the dining room, where a chef waited with a glistening steak. The next morning, he awoke to a lobster breakfast, which he ate cross-legged in bed. “Today’s bill: 108,876 kuai,” or more than $17,000, he said after checking out from the hotel in Chengdu, China, waving his receipt at the camera. “I slept away the equivalent of multiple iPhones,” he giggled. The video was tacky, sure. Ostentatious,…

In China, Bragging About Your Wealth Can Get You Censored

He started by exploring the sauna, built into the palatial bathroom of the hotel’s presidential suite. Then the video blogger moved on to the dining room, where a chef waited with a glistening steak. The next morning, he awoke to a lobster breakfast, which he ate cross-legged in bed. “Today’s bill: 108,876 kuai,” or more than $17,000, he said after checking out from the hotel in Chengdu, China, waving his receipt at the camera. “I slept away the equivalent of multiple iPhones,” he giggled. The video was tacky, sure. Ostentatious,…

Despite Risks, Watch Brands Are Fixated on China

For Swiss watchmakers preoccupied with growth — and let’s be honest, that is virtually all of them — China is the relationship they cannot live without. “It’s going to be the growth market with the biggest opportunities in years to come,” said Jean-Philippe Bertschy, a luxury goods analyst at Vontobel, a private banking and investment management group based in Zurich. “We can talk about the U.S. and Asian markets, but in terms of volume and size, of course it will be China for the foreseeable future.” By all accounts, the…

A Jewelry Brand Targets Growth Beyond China’s Borders

Since its inception in 2004, the goal of the Chinese jewelry brand Qeelin has been to create — as Dennis Chan, its Hong Kong-based co-founder and creative director, put it — “something with a rich culture but, at the same time, very contemporary.” The effort may be working. There are 38 Qeelin stores in mainland China, but the brand also has operated a boutique on Place Vendôme in Paris, a hub of high jewelry, since 2019. It is sold at department stores and boutiques such as David Jones in Australia…

Luxury’s Gray Market Is Emerging From the Shadows

Imagine you are hunting online for a pair of square-toed slides from Bottega Veneta, one of the most-hyped luxury brands of the moment. A new season pair can cost more than $550 from the brand’s website, an old-guard department store like Neiman Marcus or a newer e-commerce player like Net-a-Porter. But what if you chose to buy from Cettire, a website offering discounts of up to 30 percent on the latest fashion styles? You would be a player in the multibillion-dollar luxury “gray” market, a fast-growing sales sector that has…