Elite Traveler January-February 2019

elite traveler JAN/FEB 2019 69

them. It would be unacceptable for her to leave a customer with a problem she cannot fix. She says, “So we feel bad, and we cannot do everything.” One way she moves the industry forward is by investing in grand complications, which are the industry’s most expensive timepieces. And Wempe actually purchases them, not just selling them on commission, giving watch brands vital cash flow. She believes that “it’s better to have paid for everything which is in stock, because [the salespeople are] more convinced they which is something she takes pride in. She encourages her team to know the timepieces inside and out, because they need to be able to properly explain the movement to the client, ensuring they purchase the right watch for them. Unusually for a watch retailer, Wempe has an in-house jewelry line, which ranges from charming gold pieces to showstopping suites of rare gemstones. Kim-Eva created the collection because she was unhappy with the quality and design of the jewelry she was trying to buy for the store. Deciding she could do it better, she set out to design and manufacture her own pieces. Launching the jewelry segment was one of her first projects, and was also one of the most difficult for her team, and her father, to support. While getting them on board took some time, she ultimately had the last laugh. The company’s largest multi-million-dollar sale was jewelry, not a watch. And that seems to mean more to her than any watch sale. have to sell it.” It takes time and education to build a client into a collector of grand complications,

watch’ was undesirable, but she continues, “We wanted 50 steel and gold watches. And then they said, ‘Okay, but you have to take one Daytona.’ We said, ‘Oh, but nobody wants this awful watch from you.’” Today, she’s applying that steadfast approach to the digital age. While Wempe has a fairly robust website with online sales, it faces restrictions from brands that gray-market retailers don’t. “There are changes in the long run that you just have to feel. And I think often now, for the digital world, it’s something like that. We just canceled a relationship with one of the brands that we really, really love, but they officially deliver now to [gray market] sites, so we had to cancel. And I think in the long run, it is the right decision.” While she might lose some business by not engaging as significantly digitally and using her considerable influence to push brands along, she ensures that Wempe remains aboveboard and honest, so customers can continue to trust it. At times, her approach might appear too conservative to some, but she doesn’t mind. She believes it is better to be safe than sorry, particularly when it comes to something as delicate and complex as a mechanical watch. Wempe focuses on big brands and does not carry many independent watch brands. For Kim-Eva, there’s no question of expanding in that direction until a brand reaches a certain point. Many independents create very complicated timepieces that she appreciates and that some of her customers would buy, but if the artisans who make them decide to retire, there might not be someone available who knows how to service