SRÁID NA SEODÓIRÍ BLING STREET 2
Paul Sheeran Jewellers opens up in what is fast becoming the nation’s most fashionable shopping district
THE country may be gripped by a cost-ofliving crisis, but one Dublin city centre thoroughfare is bucking any downward trend as an array of some of the world’s most luxurious brands have set up shop.
Celebrity favourites Cartier, Mont Blanc, IWC watches and Paul Sheeran Jewellers are amongst a number of high-end shops that have thrown open their designer doors on Dublin’s Chatham Street.
And industry observers say that despite the pinch most of us may be feeling, at the top end of the market there is a growing appetite for luxury goods as big spenders prefer a personal service to shopping online as they want to try on items that could cost thousands.
Tucked away just off Grafton Street, the newly regenerated Chatham Street is now awash with riches, with decorative windows displaying dazzling diamonds of all carats and colours, luxury watches and jaw-dropping jewellery. Some of the wares on sale cost more than the annual salary of a middle-income earner.
Irish jeweller-to-the-stars Paul Sheeran has opened a three storey luxury emporium on what is fast becoming Dublin’s ‘diamond district’.
Sheeran’s store offers a range of some of the world’s most coveted brands with a strong emphasis on Swiss watches. One of his most expensive brands is the Hublot watch – favoured by the nouveau riche, sports-stars and multi-millionaire set.
A basic starter Hublot wristwatch starts at around €5,000 but they can go as high as €25,000 for the most bespoke edition watches.
Also on sale are Rolex, Jaeger LeCoultre, Tag Heuer and Omega who also come with staggering price tags.
Not content with watches and diamond rings, Sheeran has also just opened Ireland’s first standalone Mont Blanc pen boutique with the cheapest Mont Blanc around €500 but with some pens costing in the five digits price range.
Sheeran is in esteemed company with French luxury brand Cartier which has also opened its first flagship shop on Chatham Street.
The Cartier Love Lock bracelet is the most desired piece of arm-candy amongst rich romantics with Storm Keating – the wife of popstar Ronan – boasting no fewer than four solid gold Cartier Love Lock bangles on her wrist.
A Cartier Love Lock will set anyone hopelesslydevoted to designer goodies back a hefty €5,000 for the bog-standard basic bracelet. Another high-end brand that has set up shop on Chatham Street is Swiss watchmakers IWC.
An IWC watch is pitched as the wristwatch for the more discerning shopper and is considered less gaudy than its showy
Rolex counterpart.
Fashion and retail consultant Eddie Shanahan said there is ‘definitely a widening of the gap between the true luxury market and the everyday market’, and said that prices are ‘rising accordingly’ in the luxury sector.
‘And the forecast is that luxury will slow down somewhat this year, but it will still grow significantly.’
Mr Shanahan described the new shops on Chatham Street as ‘some of the biggest names in the luxury watch business’.
The retail expert said growth in the luxury market was ‘dramatic’ after the pandemic.
‘First of all, there was a pent-up demand – people were able to shop online, but if you’re going to buy a luxury product costing several tens of thousands of euro, I think you’d probably want to pick it up and handle it and try it on. If it’s a cashmere coat or a Vicuna coat for example, you want to try it on.’
‘That is another significant trend I think in the retail market – that we’re now beginning to crave the human touch again.
‘And service is becoming another key issue – people just don’t want to go online every time to buy but they do want to go and see and touch and feel the garment and try it on, or the piece of jewellery or the watch or whatever. The high street is not doomed.’