What Time Is It? Time For The UES To Get A New Watch Store

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After the abrupt failure of Breil Milano on Spring Street in Soho after only nine months of peddling their Italian luxury watches, we are surprised?to say the least?to see work continuing on the upcoming boutique of Swiss watchmaker Girard-Perregaux (motto: "Watches for the Few"); it is due to open this fall on Madison Avenue in the former Unisa space.

This will be the first store for Girard-Perregaux in the United States, and we posit that it's one of the many companies now taking advantage of lower retail rents, despite the fact that their watches typically range between $8,000 and $15,000, and $30K is not uncommon.

Girard-Perregaux's Madison move was actually announced back in April, when the empty storefront served as an impromptu dressing room during the filming of the Sarah Jessica Parker-Hugh Grant film "Did You Hear About The Morgans?"

It won't be alone in bringing new products with five-digit prices to Madison, as L'Etoile Royale is also hoping for a fall debut. This purveyor of ultra-rare and precious jewelry has a beyond crappy website, so we don't quite know what to think of it. What is apparent however, is that Madison Avenue is getting its groove back.
· Girard-Perregaux [Official Site]
· L'Etoile Royale [Official Site]
· Discontinued: Time's Up For Breil Milano [Racked]