Jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. plans to do the design, production and marketing of watches under the Tiffany & Co. brand, Rapaport reported citing a company notice sent to the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).
In December 2007, the luxury jewelry company entered into an exclusive agreement with the watch company Swatch Group through the affiliated company Tiffany Watch Co. Ltd. However, the deal ended in an expensive and painful legal dispute that arose two years later.
In 2011, Swatch filed a lawsuit for $ 4 billion against Tiffany & Co., estimating their lost income in this amount.
Tiffany & Co. filed a counter-claim for $ 600 million. Both parties cooperated in the "confidential" arbitration procedure for the consideration of the claim to resolve the case outside the United States.
Nevertheless, Tiffany & Co. informed the SEC that interaction with Swatch companies with respect to any agreements automatically ceased on October 1, 2013, which allows the company to work out other ways to enter the market of branded watches.