3 QUESTIONS TO BETH HANNAWAY, HEAD OF FINE WATCHES AND FINE JEWELLERY AT HARRODS
In September 2020, Maison Jean Rousseau entered one of the most prestigious stores in the world: Harrods. In the heart of Harrods’s Fine Watches department, Jean Rousseau displays a selection of more than 300 handmade watch straps and offers a customisation service with an array of options. Beth Hannaway, Head of Fine Watches and Fine Jewellery, describes the natural nexuses between Harrods and the work of the Manufacture.
1. Why was it important for you to welcome Jean Rousseau within Harrods Fine Watches department?
Over the past few years, we have seen an increased desire amongst our clients for ways to personalise their purchases. In Fine Watches, designing a bespoke watch strap is the perfect way to customise your watch collection, in addition to engraving a personal message, for example. We were particularly impressed with Jean Rousseau’s extensive colour palette, range of finishes and use of materials, in addition to the incredible opportunities for bespoke strap creation. We always strive to offer our clients something new and exciting to discover each time they visit our Knightsbridge home and our new partnership with Jean Rousseau brings our Fine Watches clients a rainbow of strap options, as well as an elevated bespoke service offer, with almost limitless design options for our clients to create their perfect straps. We have designed an impressive, grand-scale armoire display case, to showcase a snapshot of the rainbow of strap options available, whilst our team are on hand to walk clients through the bespoke made to order process for them to design their own straps too.
2. How does Maison Jean Rousseau reflect Harrods spirit?
Exclusivity, rarity and customisation are at the core of Fine Watches at Harrods, with Maison Jean Rousseau, one of the leading manufacturers, one of the leading manufacturers of watch straps globally, reflecting this spirit by bolstering our position as a fine watches specialist, adding a full scale strap service to give our clients the opportunity to customise their most beloved pieces. The extensive personalisation service ensures that there is something for everyone: from a fashion forward client wanting to create a trendy watch strap, a gift giver designing a bespoke piece with a discreet personal message embossed inside, to a tech lover willing to customise their smart watch.
3. Since you started working with Jean Rousseau teams, could you express the importance they give to the human relationship?
Working with the teams has been a real pleasure: despite the challenges of launching in the midst of COVID the enthusiasm for this new partnership on our side and theirs has been second to none. The teams have also created an experience that goes beyond providing a traditional watch strap for our clients, creating a unique service that focuses on a one to one relationship that inspires endless possibilities for our clients. With constantly evolving trends and to allow for adaptability for different events and occasions, clients now have the ability to place their own identity on a cherished possession, which makes a huge difference to the watch buying experience and adds real value and character to such a special purchase.