Why are high jewellers and luxury watchmakers embracing e-commerce?

Shopping for luxury watches and jewellery online might be unheard of a few years back but in the past few months, a series of luxury brands are collaborating with e-commerce conglomerate Net-A-Porter and its affiliated menswear etailer MR PORTER to tap a new demographic of clientele.

Piaget will launch its new watches and jewellery pieces from its iconic Possession collection on Net-A-Porter on April 3. The collection includes rings, necklaces and bracelets in 18ct white and pink gold versions.

“As the ultimate e-commerce platform for luxury, Net-A-Porter is the ideal partner for Piaget’s first foray outside of the maison’s own channels,” says Chabi Nouri, Piaget’s incoming CEO. “We are delighted to bring the Piaget Possession collection to the Net-A-Porter client as she shares many of the same values as Piaget: audacious creativity, elegant style and positive energy.”

Luxury menswear etailer MR PORTER will be the sole platform to get your hands on Montblanc’s first ever smartwatch. The timepiece, made in cooperation with Google, is from the Montblanc Summit Collection.

The piece will be sold exclusively through MR PORTER for a two-week run in May before the collection is available for general release across Montblanc’s own retail network globally.

Before these two exciting upcoming launches, IWC has been the first luxury watchmaker from the Richemont Group to collaborate with Net-A-Porter last year with the introduction of its Portofino collection.