"A lot of people wear a Fitbit and a watch. Apple claims that it is a watch, but it's not. All I can tell you is that I had a Fitbit and a watch, my wife wears a Fitbit but she got so irritated because of the charging," said Rupert last month. But even though smartwatches may annoy the Ruperts, Richemont, which owns watch and jewellery brands such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Montblanc, likes the product as it has revived interest among high-end consumers. "We [Richemont] like it ... a lot of people never owned watches and used their cellphones, then got used to wearing a watch and now they are going for other watches as well." Rupert is the 23rd-richest person on the 2016 Rich List, with total investments of R3.1-billion across three companies: Richemont, Reinet Investments and Remgro. As technology has begun to dominate the luxury industry, South Africa's top 1% seems to be investing more in gadgets. Richemont sales indicate that the Swiss watch industry is in trouble, altho...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.