Charriol unlocks the secrets of the heart

Philippe Charriol is a romantic at heart.

How do I know? He spent Valentine’s Day in Manila charming all his local salesgirls by going around Charriol stores and giving them rose bouquets.

He also ordered flowers to be delivered to his wife in Paris, but relates that they didn’t arrive till 7 in the evening on Feb. 14. “My wife called me yesterday and I could hear in her voice that something was wrong,” he says, laughing. “We are never romantic enough for the woman.”

The founder of Swiss luxury brand Charriol knows a thing or two about the secrets of the heart, so it’s no coincidence that Charriol’s Valentine jewelry collection is all about locks, keys, and unraveling those closely held secrets.

“We came up with a Valentine collection that is interesting for couples,” he says. “We provide the lock and the key. One can keep the lock, the other one can keep the key … they have to find out if it works — if the key fits the lock.”

The “Lock and Key” line consists of pendants, rings and bracelets in Charriol’s signature cable motif, this time adorned with hearts. Since Charriol has noticed an uptick in the number of males who wear bracelets, Charriol designs the accessory for both men and women.

Charriol’s daughter Coralie, who heads jewelry development, came up with the silver-and-steel collection (plated with rhodium and palladium to avoid tarnishing), while son Alexandre, in charge of visual merchandising, provided the Man Ray-esque display shaped like purple lips.

Charriol purposely stays with silver and steel to keep themselves accessible to the Asian consumer. Philippe says that the problem is that as soon as you enter the market for gold, its price skyrockets. “At $2,000 an ounce, unworked gold is very complicated and we’ll price ourselves out of our market in the Philippines.”

As it stands, he finds Charriol’s growth in the Philippines steady and extremely satisfactory. “We actually distribute through 16 boutiques and are hoping to open another four this year so we’ll have 20.”

He’s also eyeing expansion to Clark, Cebu, Davao and other cities in Mindanao.

“We have a good distribution of fragrances and eyewear as well, but the growth is very interesting. Charriol in the Philippines is a well-priced brand for watches and jewelry. We are in the right price bracket and that’s one of the reasons of our success in the Philippines.”

Along with the rest of the luxury world, Charriol spends a lot of time in Asia “because Asia is booming and Europe is in a sad trend. Also because mainland China is exploding, not only the country but in terms of travelers and buyers around the world. Those Chinese mainlanders are now constituting — in most of the countries around the world — the major buyers of every luxury product that you can dream about.” Charriol, who has been traveling to the Philippines since 1972, has a special fondness for our country, though. Fresh from a holiday in Boracay, one of his all-time-favorite destinations, he recounts swimming in “nice water and moving among a sea of mainland Chinese.”

“Before the war we knew that your country was a very important country in Asia,” he says. “Then it went through a sleepy time for some decades, but it seems that you are wakening up. And when France forecasted growth of .8 — which was downgraded to .4 yesterday — you are at 6.6, so I’m going to settle down here.”

Though a large part of Charriol’s business is determined at the Baselworld watch and jewelry show in Switzerland, he can’t disclose what they plan to unveil until mid-April. He will reveal that they’re redoing the concept of their boutiques around the world: “New image, new concept — we’ve just completed a new film and videos about the brand — and new watches and jewelry.”

In l’univers du luxe it’s rare that you meet the actual founder of the brand, not to mention one with such a well-developed sense of humor and zest for life (he claims to live “between Geneva, Paris and Boeing” and indulges in car racing on Arctic ice).  And, don’t forget, a romantic streak.

“To be romantic, attitude is the most important,” Charriol muses. “You have to be very attentive to your partner, and pay attention to the small things.”

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In the Philippines, Charriol is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc. (SSI), located at Greenbelt 4, Power Plant Mall, Rustan’s Makati, Rustan’s Tower, Gateway Mall, SM Mall of Asia, 158 Designers’ Boulevard Alabang Town Center, TriNoma, Robinsons Midtown, Newport Resorts World, The Podium, Rustan’s Ayala Cebu, Abreeza Davao and Limketkai Cagayan De Oro.