On December 9, 2009, Monarch Dubai's Empire Restaurant brought together selected luxury connoisseurs. Among them was Mr. Wartkess Knadiyan, Chief Executive Officer of the British jewelry trading house Backes & Strauss and Mr. Shirin Al Khatib, managing company Al Tayer Insignia. The sophisticated reception hosted by Backes & Strauss and the Azal chain of watch and jewelry boutiques was accompanied by the aroma of expensive cigars and light jazz music, to the sounds of which guests could admire and even try on unique copies of watches from the Backes & Strauss collection, first presented in Dubai. For a more complete idea of what products are shown to the Dubai public, we asked several questions to Wartkess Knadiyan, to which he kindly agreed to answer.
Wartkess, please tell me why the Backes & Strauss wristwatch causes such an increased interest, and what is their fundamental difference from other "jewelry" watches on the market?
Backes & Strauss is the oldest British diamond jewelry company specialized in diamond cutting, which has no equal in the market since 1789. The Backes & Strauss watch is undoubtedly an outstanding piece of jewelry, thanks to our partnership with the Frank Muller watch manufactory, which began just two years ago. Thanks to the unique mechanisms that were specially developed by the masters of Frank Muller, our watches occupy a unique niche in the segment of complex mechanical works of watchmaking. Add to this the best diamonds with a perfect cut, and you will understand why all our series are limited by a very small number of copies and are intended only for true connoisseurs of watch and jewelry.
Is it true that London, with its history and geography, is invisibly present in the designs of Backes & Strauss watches?
True. Reflecting the London origin of the Backes & Strauss brand, all of our watch collections are dedicated to this particular city. Creating their watches, Backes & Strauss craftsmen drew inspiration from the work of the legendary London Regency architect John Nash. In total, the team of our designers developed 3 collections: The Berkley, The Piccadilly and The Regent.
The watches from The Piccadilly collection are made in a round shape of the central square of London - Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly), which has become the center of the city since its construction in 1819. This square, as well as the clocks symbolizing it, is the embodiment of the harmony of the old and new, tradition and innovation.
The Berkeley collection drew inspiration from one of the most romantic places in London - at Berkeley Square, an elegant park which was planned back in the 18th century, in the midst of the noisy and elegant Mayfair district. Gold 
The frame of the watch resembles Berkeley Square in its shape and is decorated with a hundred diamonds that give an unmatched radiance to the watch. And, of course, the watchmakers could not but perpetuate the famous Regent Street. The classic proportions of urban ensembles created by John Nesh are seen in the strictly symmetrical form of a golden watch case, studded with 64 sparkling diamonds.
Please briefly dwell on the limited collections of Backes & Strauss. For whom were they created and are being created?
For the few selected connoisseurs of luxury and sophisticated style, Backes & Strauss masters have released a limited edition watch series Prince Berkeley, Prince Piccadilly and Prince Regent. The Prince Berkeley watch bracelet is made of alligator leather, stitched with 18-karat gold thread. This watch is adorned with 221 diamonds, weighing 21.04 carats. There are five such watches in total ... Prince Piccadilly watches are studded with 200 diamonds, weighing more than 17 carats. And finally, the magnificent Prince Regent watch, which embodied the painstaking work of Backes & Strauss jewelers, who devoted 135 days only to cutting, polishing and invisibly fixing diamonds adorning this piece of jewelry. In total, 25 unique copies of this watch have been released.
In your opinion, are Backes & Strauss watches perfect?
Perfection and attention to every detail are synonymous with the Backes & Strauss brand. Only 3% of all diamonds on Earth can compare with those made in Backes & Strauss workshops both in terms of purity and quality of cuts. In short, the perfect cut creates perfection from stone. And when all these carefully selected stones in color and size are mounted on the bezel or dial of the watch, then the watch itself becomes perfect. That's the whole backes & strauss. We have something to be proud of.
Thank you for your time. It remains to wish you new discoveries and collections.
