History
THE FIRST 10 YEARS OF AN ASTOUNDING SUCCESS STORY
1993-1996: the premises of success
When he founded de GRISOGONO SA, Fawaz Gruosi was driven by intuition rather than by any strategy, and he specialized in the creation and sale of designer jewellery and objets d’art. His original creativity ensured that each of his jewels met with immediate success.
1996: the (re)discovery of the black diamond…
Whilst the profession had abandoned the black diamond, this very young company singled itself out by making the whole world rediscover this really unique gem. The company offered exceptional products ranging from jewellery to luxury jewellery, from prestige furniture to cigars, the offers successfully combining aesthetics and creativity, audacity and originality. From the very beginning, de GRISOGONO was strongly imbued with the taste and style of its founder, Fawaz Gruosi.
The company’s first six years were marked by very steady growth, a growth far superior to that of the average luxury company of the same size. In the wake of this, four boutiques were inaugurated in Geneva, Gstaad, London and Rome.
2000-2002: breath-taking growth
Three years during which de GRISOGONO’s success accelerated. The watchmaking department came into being in 2000, thereby affirming the brand’s determination to be present in the almost hermetically sealed world of precision watchmaking.
The watch collection Instrumento N° Uno, presented at the Basel Fair in 2000, contributed greatly to this growth by exceeding the wildest expectations and hopes: more than 3'500 pieces have been sold to date.
It was during the course of these three years that Fawaz Gruosi made a discovery which would enrich the world of forgotten gems : milky diamonds, whose moon-like colour and brilliance seemingly softened by an inner veil render quite astounding. He named them “Icy” and created the “Icy Diamonds” collection. A new challenge meeting with exceptional success.
This very encouraging success, plus the unbridled enthusiasm of the professionals and the clientele, also forced de GRISOGONO to readjust its growth plan. With sales exceeding CHF 63 million in 2002, the increase compared to 1999 reached 55%. Quite some performance. As a result of this, de GRISOGONO was then in a position to offer its clients a personalised service as regards the choice and design of jewels and watches. The company had to adapt itself somewhat like a self-employed artisan who suddenly has to apply the rigorous standards of a small or medium-sized company.
2001. The company, whose staff had increased from 10 to 50 within five years, moved into spacious offices which were much better adapted to the size it had reached. In September, a boutique was opened at 27, rue du Rhône. Its 400 m2 henceforth housed the commercial activities of one of the most beautiful boutiques in Geneva, offering de GRISOGONO a setting worthy of its prestige.
2002 was the year when the second de GRISOGONO watch, the Instrumento Doppio, was born: it was given this name because of its two-sided watchcase with, on the one side, a dial offering the functions of a chronograph and a large date and, on the other side, a dial with a second time zone. Equipped with a hitherto unknown and patented mechanism, this new watch was offered for sale in a limited series of 500 pieces. Presented at the Basel Fair, the Instrumento Doppio too met with immediate success. Fully determined to benefit from this appreciation, Fawaz Gruosi continued developing both fields of his company’s activity, putting forth very high quality through a rigorous selection of exclusive distributors all over the world. At the same time, points of sale were multiplying in Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Asia. In April, de GRISOGONO opened a subsidiary in New York, de GRISOGONO Inc., to better meet the requirements of its American distributors and clients.
2003: the year of consecration…
Demand from its international clientele was growing stronger day by day. To cope with this in a professional manner, de GRISOGONO opened new franchised boutiques in Hong-Kong, Kuwait and Moscow, where there are now two. The very beautiful London boutique is now situated in the most elegant street : New Bond Street. Two boutiques were opened - in Paris in January, and in St-Moritz in December -, and an additional one will be opened in New York in 2004. These inaugurations reflect the company’s good health and enhance recognition of the brand among the public. However, far from getting carried away by this exceptional success, Fawaz Gruosi has decided to favour quality by limiting the number of boutiques in the world to ten boutiques in his own name and ten in the form of franchised boutiques. For him, luxury must remain exclusive. This is why he is so rigorous in selecting locations as well as points of sale.
Basel 2003: the brand launched its third watch, Instrumentino. Smaller, as its name implies, this model was inspired by the now famous Instrumento N° Uno.
… and of shagreen.
Fawaz Gruosi is certainly not someone to rest on his laurels. Creative and indefatigable, he is the first in the watchmaking and jewellery world to have offered, in 2000, ladies’ watches with bracelets made of shagreen, a substance extracted from ray skin. In 2003, encouraged by the enormous success of the collection, the brand also launched throughout the world an entire shagreen jewellery collection set with gold and precious stones.
The company’s growth, its notable expansion worldwide and its ever-growing fame should enable it to attain its objectives: to increase watch production to 10’000 pieces within five years and to consolidate its position in a highly competitive market on a lasting basis.
2004: the year of dedication
Faithful to its innovative spirit, forever in search of new horizons, the company de GRISOGONO has launched several new watches this year. INSTRUMENTO TONDO, this oval watch is as beautiful vertical as it is horizontal. Conceived for men as well as for women, this watch has been a great success. The LIPSTICK, cylinder or square, slants are made with several substances and stones of various colours.
2005: the year of expansion
Monday 24th January 2005, at the Building “Force motrices” Geneva, de Grisogono surprises the entire world with its new clock making creation: L ‘ OCCHIO RIPETIZIONE MINUTI. This new chronometer is equipped with a diaphragm with twelve shutters through which appear the movements of time which ring and close again. On the foundation of a manual Repetitive movement, GRISOGONO indeed designed and developed an exclusive additional module with diaphragm.
At the time of the sumptuous evening, de GRISOGONO revealed to the press another time keeping model: L’ INSTUMENTO GRANDE. A rectangular model equipped with a very large counter for the date and a new case with impressive volumes. L’ INSTUMENTO GRANDE is available in several versions of steel or gold and is equipped with three dial colours. Original down to every last seam, this watch is also characterized by its opening from the case section.
In May, in an outstanding place: L ‘ Eden Roc in Cannes the launching of the POWER BREAKER takes place, the newest edition of the de GRISOGONO collections. Its incredible power gave birth to its name: POWER BREAKER. The Explosive cocktail of extreme technicality of the stop watch in addition to its strong aesthetic reference marks and top-of-the-range completions. Inspired by the F1 universe, the case is made conspicuous by its 4 part creation which works according to aesthetic codes' of the automobile competition. Invented in partnership with Flavio Briatore, the first 500 POWER BREAKER stop watches are delivered with the engraved signature of the owner of the Renault F1 TEAM on the bottom of the case.
In the field of innovation, Fawaz Gruosi created a new form of gold: the BROWNY BROWN GOLD. Jewelleries present this exclusively for bracelets, rings, ear-rings and pendants, sometimes to set off a subtle curvy collection of precious stones. The watchmaking industry is not at rest: “BROWNY BROWN GOLD” will make its appearance on masculine and feminine models of INSTRUMENTO N° UNO, INSTRUMENTINO, INSTRUMENTO TONDO, without forgetting the powerful and most recent, POWER BREAKER.
Several investments have been made over the year in order to reinforce the current position of the brand ready for its grand opening in Tokyo.
2006: The conquest of new markets
Six years after having entered of the house of de GRISOGONO on the clock making scene, three new watch models have emerged not to mention the splendid jewellery shop collection which has marked this marvellous year.
De GRISOGONO strives towards the sporting watch industry with the launch of “FG ONE” to the design extremely associated with a technical exception. Decorated with jumping images retro gradable and equipped with a set of complications, set in a rectangular case with two dials that open.
Model INSTRUMENTO N° UNO slants into a new very original version, which portrays the high-speed motorboat of the seconds in the centre of the dial.
INTRUMENTO GRANDE OPEN DATE belongs to the most current clock making innovations of this year, a watch which is, simply open, for the reason that there is nothing to hide, yet all too show. The grande Open Date is in a case of an exceptional size.
With the opening of a second shop in Moscow, de GRISOGONO has reached as many as thirteen international shops and 180 sales areas .
The expansion of the company and its establishment very present in the world today and its growing notoriety should enable the brand to achieve its goals: to take the production of watches to 10 ' 000 in the space of five years and to reinforce, in a durable manner, its position on the very competitive market.
