LEELA watch


Over the years, Century has established a distinctive and exclusive look with its sapphire watches that has become a 'classic'. They are handcrafted from a monolith system that consists of a multi-facetted sapphire case and face that are inseparably joined using a chemical process; the sapphire case blank is cut and polished by hand, with the addition of materials such as diamonds, gold, platinum, mother-of-pearl and Chinese lacquer, thus making each watch genuinely unique. The watches are all water-resistant to 100 metres and fitted with a Swiss quartz movement, or, if desired, a hand-wound or automatic mechanical movement.

The new collections
Inspired by the multitude of colours and forms in nature, the Leela Collection is referred to by Century as the ‘Fireworks of the Senses’. Taken from the Sanskrit word for game, Leela is designed for women looking to “express their playful personality, a joyful message of joie de vivre, freedom and passion.”
The hand-cut case has 96 sparkling facets, elegantly set in a circle of natural coloured sapphire flowers and diamond petals. The elaborate gold bracelet, is also decorated with colourful sapphire beads and is designed to wrap around the wearer’s wrist.
The Prime Time Egos, is a combination of the “traditional craftsman’s skill of precious stone cutting and modern, Swiss watchmaking technology”. It is equipped with a high-precision automatic chronometer movement set in a hand-cut housing with twelve facets and a transparent base that offers a view into the filigree interior. The Prime Time Egos is available with three hands, power reserve and date display, or two hands with small seconds and a date display at six o’clock.
The Ellipse Collection is totally different from all the other watches. Although the watch is made in the traditional Century manner from sapphire with a palladium metallization colouring, the diamond-set watch is rectangular and is entirely new in concept with a very powerful looking stainless steel bracelet integrated into the watch.

Century today
Century’s headquarters are in Nidau, near Biel, comprising the manufacturing workshops and the offices for marketing, sales and administration. We asked Philip Klingenberg, the son of the founder and CEO of this family-run business if the brand’s new collections, being totally different from the Century’s ‘classic’ look, were a move away from the established collections?




ELLIPSE & PRIME TIME EGOS


Philip Klingenberg: Actually, our customers were glad that our typical Century style has been maintained even with the introduction of the latest developments such as the Leela or Ellipse which are clearly different from the existing lines. You are right though, apart from our classical lines, we are advancing into new design fields. We have become more playful in our creative department and the results are, quite frankly, astonishing.
When we launched them, we were surprised about the terrific response we had. Also, we noticed that we are reaching new customers with these products. During this year, we will present a few more models in an even more modern concept - but they will continue to be luxurious and romantic in styling.

Europa Star: Tell us about the introduction of the Century jewellery collection.

P.K: Every year we add some new models of jewellery - which usually correspond to the style of our watches. They have proved to be very popular and we are happy that they are selling well. This year - at BaselWorld 2006, we will introduce some fantastic new pieces.

E.S: The new 'look' created in Century's advertising and promotional tools have a soft feminine appearance. Previously, I believe 60 percent of your sales were ladies' watches. Has this changed?

P.K: We are probably one of the most feminine brands in our segment, although our strong point is not only the design of the watches, but also the quality and technique, which is usually more a men's thing. But the glamorous and gorgeous style, along with the unusual design of our Century lines are really attracting modern and independent ladies. Today, our customers are 80 percent ladies.

E.S: Tell us about the development of Century's distribution since the introduction of the new advertising concept. Has it attracted new outlets?

P.K: Certainly. We opened a few more points-of-sale (POS), but it has also increased the saleswithin the existing POS. As all of our products are individually ‘handmade’, our production remains limited; consequently we would not be able to follow the demand if we were to increase our sales network too fast.

E.S: You have recently opened Century boutiques in Japan and Kuwait. How are they doing and is this the direction you see your brand going?

P.K: This is an important part of our distribution strategy. Both shop in shops, as we have in the Hyatt Hotel in Zurich, and our boutiques communicate the corporate design as well as the total collection. Together they create an image of modern luxury and romance which is amazingly warm and very light in weight and in appearance.

E.S: What are Century's major markets and why are those markets more successful than others?

P.K: Our major markets are the East Asian markets together with Japan and then the Americas.
The longer we are active in a market, the more success we have – that’s about it. Success is about either being established in a market or not. This year, we celebrate our company’s 40th anniversary. But our brand has only really been developed over the last twenty years, as we were mainly a private label producer during the first twenty years of our existence. But since we introduced the Century brand, we are steadily improving and developing our distribution network. Each market we moved into has enjoyed a steady growth and is increasing our brand’s reputation for their appealing design and quality as well as its uniqueness in style.

E.S: What untapped markets do you intend to develop and why?

P.K: We have still a lot of countries to develop. We will develop them one by one, depending on our production possibilities.

E.S: Finally, how do you see the future of the watch industry in general and Century in particular?

P.K: Since we started to develop our Century brand, which was as I have already mentioned only 20 years ago, we have had, every year, a two-digit percentage increase in our sales, which was and is above the average of the industry. Thanks to our new developments and creativity we see a bright future for Century. The latest developments became possible thanks to new technologies in machining and software, but also because of new materials. Over all, there is a great potential for further success in our industry - if everybody does the right thing.


Source: February - March 2006 Issue