Bucherer makes history with Paris store opening

By

Florent Gilles

Published
Apr 11, 2013

The Parisian temple of watches and fine jewelry will open its doors in a few days on the premises of the former Old England store. The Swiss manufacturer and retailer Bucherer, a company founded in 1888 in Locarno, is giving Paris its largest luxury jewelry and watch boutique in an impressive 2,200 square-meter store as a response to growing market demand.

The store's sophisticated levels are arranged in a figure eight — a reference to the brand’s birth date of 1888 — and offer shop in shops from Rolex, Tudor, Longines and Blancpain (Swatch Group), Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantine (Richemont) on the ground floor. They are all neighbors to Bucherer Diamonds, the group’s fine jewelry brand.

The first floor gives clients access to exceptional companies, including the most important jewelry brands of the Richemont Group, owner of the building. The list includes German A. Lange & Söhne (which just opened its first shop on Rue de la Paix a few doors away), Baume & Mercier, Chopard, IWC, Montblanc, Panerai, Piaget, Roger Dubuis and Van Cleef & Arpels. But the new mega-flagship will also host two legendary Swiss companies, Girard-Perregaux and Zenith, each respectively part of the LVMH and Kering (ex-PPR) portfolios. The basement showcases the most contemporary brands such as Tissot, Swiss B, Mido, Oris and Rado.

The paneled walls and facade of the historic monument were renovated in collaboration with the Paris Office of Architecture and Historic Preservation. In the store's interior, Bucherer will operate as a distributor in its three ultra modern floors, which are predominantly gray and minimalist in decor. The atmosphere is warmed by a dreamy light created by the artist Valeria Nascimento, who has suspended ceramic fixtures that resemble white petals. The lighting adds a touch of human warmth to the store, which also doubles as the brand’s own watch and jewelry workshop staffed by craftsmen trained by Bucherer, as is the entire luxury megastore team.