It’s a watch company from Switzerland, but not as we know it. Bomberg emerged relatively recently in 2012 and has thus far made an effort to distance itself from the rest of the luxury market with muscular and provocative designs.
The company now looks to be targeting Gulf buyers with its new BOLT-68 range, unveiled this week at a boxing gym in Dubai – an unconventional location for quite an alternative set of watches. Most notably, the BOLT-68 Falcon evokes a Gulf icon and celebrates Arab tradition, even boasting Arabic (or Indian) numerals around the bezel.
The quirky design goes further with a detachment mechanism that allows owners to remove the entire face and wear it as a pocket watch. Other models offer similar functionality to be set up as a desk clock. There’s also the “flashy” BOLT-68 NEON, the “mad” BOLT-68 SKULL BADASS and the Japan-inspired BOLT-68 SAMURAI.
When asked if the Arab market in particular has an appetite for something new, Bomberg’s Middle East Director, Jacques Tedeschi, said: “Something new and something unusual. From what we heard at the Basel fair, everyone said the same thing – it’s all very similar. There’s nothing inspiring and different. And that’s why we’re having a big success.”
“It’s not only the young. Everyone from 18 to 50 wants something new. If I take the Middle East, where we’re very spoiled and love watches. A man can wear a watch of a ring maximum – not like a lady. So they can afford to spend more. When they find something that’s completely different, they don’t care – they’ll just buy it. They may already have a Patek, but that doesn’t mean they won’t buy the Bomberg,” he added.
