Cartier opens boutique on Saipan

Cartier, the French company known the world over for its luxury products, brought its brand to the CNMI with a new boutique inside DFS Saipan that opened its doors last Saturday.

The opening was attended by Cartier Saipan officials, DFS managers, residents, and tourists that came to check out the Cartier line of jewelry, watches, bags, wallets, and perfumes.

Billy Chung, assistant general manager, said that Cartier Saipan carries classic pieces and exclusive fine jewelry that are not available anywhere else—even in other Cartier stores.

“One of the key highlights of this boutique is the three exclusive pieces considered one of the most famous collection of Cartier called the ‘Panther Collection’ that includes a necklace, bracelet, and ring. The panther’s head is the signature look of this collection—filled with diamonds, emeralds as eyes and well as the nose—with a total retail value of $500,000,” he said.

“We are proud to carry this collection on Saipan as this is a product of working closely with Cartier. We thank Cartier for the trust because those pieces have never been here before until tonight and this shows Cartier’s huge confidence of having a shop [on] Saipan,” he added.

Chung said their opening is perfect timing as the Lunar New Year is happening this week. “With the influx of tourists gaining momentum again on island, we consider this very good for us. The opening of the shop and the Lunar New Year coming up, we are already seeing a good return of our Chinese customers and tourists from other Asian countries.”

He said that, despite Saipan being hit by a super typhoon a few months ago, “we have been continuously working with the team in Hong Kong so that we can get the collection that we asked for and we remained very optimistic,” he said.

Aside from tourists, their team is seeing more local customers “and we are very happy to see this happen as we have been working hard in renovating the stores so we can have our local customers enjoy their shopping time,” he added.

In terms of sales, Chung said that Saipan is a booming market. “We have the best items for both ladies and men from our popular Cartier collection. …Cartier Saipan carries the most popular collections available like the Ballon Bleu de Cartier and the Santos de Cartier collection for men.”

He said the Santos de Cartier watches are very special pieces. Aside from being one of the first designs of Cartier, the watches were redesigned, relaunched, “and now look more elegant. Sales is good. We have been growing in terms of Cartier sales and our Cartier partners are very confident with us in terms of sales here on Saipan,” he added.

Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Chris Concepcion sees the opening of the new Cartier boutique as a positive sign. “Cartier and DFS have been in the CNMI for many years and their latest investment comes at a critical time for the tourism industry.  We are still recovering from Super Typhoon Yutu, with some flights from Korea waiting to resume and new flights from Japan and Taiwan set to happen soon, so this new investment sends a positive message to our source markets that the CNMI is back in business and ready to welcome visitors from abroad once again,” he said.

“Cartier attracts extremely high-end clientele because of its renowned products and historic ties to European royalty and famous celebrities. It is regarded as one of the most prestigious jewelry and watch-making companies in the world and ranks as one of Forbes’ most valuable brands in the world,” he added.

Milan Rabold, general manager DFS Saipan, said that DFS has been undergoing renovations to make way for more shops, boutiques and extra spaces. “The beauty hall is done…[and] people can expect more beauty brands. Aside from Cartier, we also opened Omega , Fendi, Prada.”

“Our VIP lounge for our VIP shoppers is also underway. We are looking at two more weeks before it is finished,” he added.