Watches
Retailer Highlight: LV Luxurious Jewelers In Las Vegas, NV, And Wanna Purchase A Watch? In West Hollywood, CA
This week, we’re placing the highlight on two retailers, one giant and one small, who’re driving horology ahead within the West. Wanna Purchase A Watch in Los Angeles focuses on classic timepieces, whereas LV Luxurious is the place in Las Vegas to buy model new watches to have fun profitable a cool sum on the tables subsequent door.
The closure of The Strip in Las Vegas has certainly put a damper on tourism (it would not exist), and by extension, the native economic system. For a enterprise that employs 65 folks like LV Luxurious, the impact is felt not solely by the oldsters straight behind the enterprise, however by these which can be employed as nicely. Supporting native retailers creates a multiplier impact: You are conserving them in enterprise, however you are additionally supporting the folks whose livelihood is working on the numerous boutiques.
Our readership is probably going aware of Wanna Purchase A Watch in Los Angeles. Whereas they cannot open the shop, they’ve tailored to those making an attempt instances and may arrange face-to-face conferences with prospects.
Thanks to Mr. Bekhor from LV Luxurious Jewelers and Mr. Jacobs from Wanna Purchase A Look ahead to sharing your tales.
LV Luxurious Jewelers In Las Vegas, NV
Everybody has a creation story. What’s yours?
I have been within the jewellery enterprise since 1977, and particularly watches since 1999. I bought into the business by chance – I used to be the monetary associate of a small jeweler and ended up opening my first retailer in Las Vegas in 1978. Now we function quite a few shops all through Las Vegas.
We first signed a lease with the Venetian in 1998. After we first approached the Venetian for a retail house, they requested us to usher in luxurious watch manufacturers and, not figuring out the business, my response was, “positive, no downside.” They requested for a number of luxurious manufacturers that took us over 10 years to carry into the Venetian Palazzo, and over 10 extra years to lastly carry into the LV Luxurious household of shops. It is taken a long time to construct the portfolio of manufacturers that we stock.
Omega was the primary watch firm to signal on with us in 1999, adopted by TAG Heuer, Ebel, Charriol, and Damiani. We’ve got had superb supporting companions through the years who’ve supported us via powerful instances and relished in our success. We have grown and developed through the years, and most not too long ago added Rolex and Patek Philippe.
Our location was wonderful, being that we had three,000 rooms above us, and we have been additionally hooked up to the Sands conference heart, one of many largest on this planet. Sensing the chance, we opened our second retailer on the Venetian property, Horologio, in 2004, and added one other 15 luxurious watch manufacturers to the portfolio with the likes of Breitling, Vacheron Constantin, Piaget, Roger Dubuis, and Franck Muller.
Alan, my son, joined the household enterprise in 2001.
In 2008, with the opening of the Palazzo Lodge, we took a serious leap and opened two new shops, Bellusso and our Van Cleef & Arpels location. Bellusso was actually a first-of-its-kind within the US. It was a really lengthy and slender retailer with superb frontage, however it was lined with quite a few boutiques and had a really European really feel. That location options an IWC, Vacheron Constantin, and Kwiat boutique along with Cartier, A. Lange & Söhne, Blancpain, Breguet, Bulgari, and Wellendorff.
Christine Sidoris, the VP of the corporate, joined LV Luxurious in 2013 as Managing Director at Horologio and is now overseeing each the Rolex Boutique and Patek Philippe.
In 2018, we have been very lucky to open our largest retailer but: an attractive Rolex boutique and Patek Philippe showroom on the Retailers at Crystals. As well as, we opened a captivating Kwiat boutique on the Wynn resort simply adjoining to the visitor room elevators.
How has LV Luxurious Jewelers been supporting the watch neighborhood?
LV Luxurious prides itself on hiring specialists who’re passionate, sincere, and devoted professionals who’re desirous to share their data with watch fans. LV Luxurious has over 1,000 five-star Google opinions. We function a number of model boutiques which permit us to supply our purchasers uncommon and restricted items and plenty of different timepieces that turn out to be obtainable to us completely or forward of different areas.
Moreover, we additionally take part in a number of native and nationwide charities which can be near our purchasers’ and to our hearts. A number of the numerous efforts we assist are Adelson Hospice and Hold Reminiscence Alive, two nice native organizations. We’re additionally supporters of the Affiliation for Frontotemporal Degeneration, and on the nationwide stage, The Lions of Judah and the Selfless Love Basis.
Yearly, we have now trunk reveals the place lots of our home and worldwide purchasers journey to Las Vegas for the chance to accumulate unique timepieces that we stock.
What watches do you carry that people ought to be being attentive to proper now?
There are such a lot of great choices. It might be exhausting to pick just some, due to the massive breadth of what we stock.
We characteristic greater than 30 manufacturers together with Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Vacheron Constantin, and Breitling. We’ve got had a number of Las Vegas Unique Restricted Editions by IWC, Breitling, and Bell & Ross. We at present have within the works a number of others to turn out to be obtainable later this yr.
How can prospects and people taken with buying a watch join with you?
All accommodations on The Strip are closed, and tourism is non-existent at present in Las Vegas. All of our shops closed whereas we look ahead to the pandemic to cross. Nonetheless, you possibly can attain us throughout this time at: web site@lvluxuryjewelers.com. As soon as we reopen, we may have all our shops’ contact data on our web site, www.lvluxuryjewelers.com.
LV Luxurious Jewelers
A number of areas in Las Vegas, together with at The Retailers at Crystals, the Discussion board Retailers at Caesars Palace (Van Cleef & Arpels), The Palazzo Lodge (Bellusso), The Venetian (Horologio), and The Wynn (Kwiat).
Wanna Purchase A Watch? In West Hollywood
Everybody has a creation story. What’s yours?
How do I inform this briefly? I moved to Southern California in 1976 for my internship in medical psychology. I accomplished my PhD and bought licensed to follow in California, however within the meantime found the fantastic thing about classic pocket watches on the Pasadena Rose Bowl month-to-month Flea Market. I noticed an incredible potential within the classic marketplace for these fascinating and exquisite practical timepieces that you possibly can carry and put on.
I had all the time been a collector of stuff, first seashells, then stamps, after which cash, however after I found these lovely, undervalued timepieces, I noticed a wealthy enterprise alternative. Moreover, these superbly adorned Elgins, Walthams, and Hampden looking case watches with a lid that popped open (and with a secret again door to see the motion) can be much more fascinating to a fairly woman at a celebration than making an attempt to curiosity her in one in every of my Standing Liberty quarters!
After first promoting at flea markets and native vintage reveals together with modest vintage jewellery, I had a possibility to share a tiny house with a classic neon restoration man on what was a vibrant and rising classic and American popular culture market on Melrose Ave. My pleasure about leaving psychology, and being a part of the emergent worldwide Melrose Ave scene, was unstoppable!
These have been the times lengthy earlier than the web and earlier than eBay. The native watch store was the place everybody congregated, typically two-deep on a Saturday afternoon, to see the newest choices. In these days, there have been 4 outlets promoting classic watches on Melrose. I had expanded my pursuits from pocket watches to American wristwatches, which have been simply changing into modern within the U.S. within the early ’80s. I credit score Sig (Ziggy) Shonholtz not for being my mentor per se, however as a task mannequin for the fashionableness and enchantment of 1920s-1950s wristwatch design, aesthetically restored and outfitted with superb straps.
In these days, the market was sizzling for Gruen Curvexes, Artwork Deco design by Bulova and Illinois, Rolex bubblebacks and Speedkings, something pink gold, Bulova Spaceviews and Hamilton electrics! It was all design-driven, to have an ever-expanding assortment of cool-looking classic watches.
The checklist of celebrities we had the pleasure of internet hosting in our LA store might fill pages, and it was, and nonetheless is, a thrill when well-known celebs from the music, arts, TV, movie industries and past got here to our retailer.
Shifting forward 20-plus years, we relocated additional west on Melrose to a really upscale vogue and retail space – a far cry from these early days on the “different” Melrose. As anybody studying this is aware of, the market shifted considerably from the cool design American manufacturers to the bigger, dearer and prestigious Rolex sport fashions. Our prospects have been bringing of their rolls of 12 to 20 gold-filled or gold gown watches to commerce for one good Submariner. We bought our first Paul Newman for $three,500, the following for $6,500, and shortly the market had exploded to $12,500!!!
How has Wanna Purchase A Watch been supporting the watch neighborhood?
Because the starting, we have now operated a retail retailer on modern Melrose Ave. I’m not a technical particular person, not a watchmaker, and had no household background in watches. For me then, and now, my ardour has been pushed by the aesthetic. And in the direction of that finish, we have now all the time created heat and interesting retail environments. Our print promoting (discontinued way back), our retailer format, the choice of watches, the superb images on IG and our web site, the no-appointment-needed entry in a well-liked vogue district the place prospects can look, contact, strive on, and study – these all assist curiosity and demand for our watches.
After all, we owe a giant tip of the hat to Ben, who apart from inviting us to contribute to this text, referred to Wanna Purchase A Watch? as “LA’s Horological Epicenter” throughout his interview for Speaking Watches with Fred Savage. Fairly a praise, and I am impressed with how concise he will be!!!
What watches do you carry that people ought to be being attentive to proper now?
We supply a big choice and number of Swiss and a few American manufacturers, dominated by classic sport and gown Rolexes. Of late, we have now been providing quite a lot of distinctive situation 1970s and ’80s Day-Date Presidents. Gold bracelet Rolexes have actually taken off in reputation with the Presidents main the cost. As I’ve stated earlier than in our posts, the previous CEO watch has now turn out to be the style alternative for each women and men.
Lots of our younger gun male prospects have graduated from the fashionable Rolex sport fashions and sometimes personal a number of. They cease by the store of their 911s, discuss Porsches and their Leicas, and are sporting a Nautilus or a Royal Oak. They need to know what we have now in sport APs and Pateks. Sadly, the cabinet is normally naked, as these watches are exhausting to come back by for us, so we’re left promoting lovely classic Rolexes, Omegas, Vacherons, LeCoultres, Longines, colourful sporty dive watches, classic chronos, and the like.
How can prospects and people taken with buying a watch join with you?
Although our store is at present closed, we’re persevering with to take care of and publish to our web site and to our @wannabuyawatch and @wannabuyawatchjewels IG accounts. We will be reached at Ken@wannabuyawatch.com to reply questions or probably arrange a socially-distant face-to-face. We proceed to ship home and internationally totally insured through FedEx.
Wanna Purchase A Watch?
8441 Melrose Ave,
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(323) 653-0467