Shimmering brass. Cast glass with a wave structure. Dark marble effects. Jaeger-LeCoultre was the first boutique to celebrate its reopening on 28 February in the completely redesigned Fine Watches Room of the long-standing Harrods store in London.
The design team at Jaeger-LeCoultre chose Hoffmann Interior as its competent shop fitting partner in order to perfectly showcase the character of the Swiss watch manufacturer at the point-of-sale. You can already see the 35 m² boutique when you ascend the sweeping marble-lined staircase leading into the Fine Watches Room in the Harrods store. The dark ceramic stone panels that run over the centre of the floor and tabletop to the central wall display create a vertical line of slight that literally draws visitors’ attention into the boutique.
The central display table is the heart of the boutique and also a masterpiece of technical design excellence. Jodok Weiß, project manager at Hoffmann Interior reports: “Forward-opening drawers on the glass watch display showcases allow them to remain virtually concealed when they are opened. The same applies to the built-in table mirror that is only revealed when the table elements is folded up. We also developed a sophisticated cable system so that this solid mirror element can be carefully closed again.”
Natural structures – the design of the elaborate wall systems is based on this fundamental idea. High-gloss mirror foil was affixed to the wave-structured cast glass that is reminiscent of glistening snow and a matt satin finish was applied in some areas to emulate foggy landscapes. There was also a special feature when mounting the glass tiles. “According to the Harrod's safety standards, it did not suffice to merely fix the glass elements to the wall and therefore all the elements still also had to be mechanically secured. The glass tiles were fixed into specially designed brass frame constructions and therefore secured,” explains Jodok Weiß.
Many sophisticated details round off the boutique design. For example, the brass effect front panels on the furniture that adorn the base of the central table and the free-standing counter at the side as well as the low table in the rear consulting area. The pattern was milled into the fire-resistant MDF panel material and later rounded off with a brass-coloured finish in order to achieve the ribbed column effect. “We briefly ground the saw blade diagonally, moving to each individual groove with the 5-axis CNC machine, “ explains Jodok Weiß. Another detail: glass sliding doors that can be extended if necessary were fitted to both sides of the central element in order to create a confidential consulting area at the rear of the boutique.
Jaeger-LeCoultre celebrated its 185th anniversary in 2018 and sets another milestone in the company's history with its new boutique in Harrods. Hoffmann Interior is pleased to have been part of this special project.