According to The Wall Street Journal, Timex—the brand that takes a licking and keeps on ticking—is keeping some pretty fancy company these days.
This morning, family-owned Salvatore Ferragamo SpA will open the doors of its medieval palazzo on the banks of the Arno River in Florence to Timex Group Chief Executive Joe Santana, who is expected to unveil a deal whereby the U.S.-based company will produce high-end watches for the Italian fashion house.
Closely held Timex has similar partnerships with two other illustrious names in the Italian fashion scene — family-owned Versace SpA and Valentino Fashion Group SpA, recently taken over by private-equity firm Permira — to make watches in the $2,000 to $55,000 range.
Timex, based in Middlebury, Conn., and tracing its history back to 1854, doesn’t boast the Swiss watch-making legacy that helps elite manufacturers such as Rolex create an aura of exclusivity. But since, we can’t remember what happened ten years ago in America, this might not be much of a problem.
