Harry Winston Inc., one of the world’s leading diamond jewelers and luxury watchmakers, has made two management appointments it says “further strengthen” its position as a key player in the high-end jewelry and watch businesses.

Hamdi Chatti was named managing director of the Harry Winston Rare Timepieces, and Gilles Haumont was named managing director of international sales.

These appointments reflect Harry Winston’s commitment to playing a major role in both diamond jewelry and watch making,” said James C. Seuss, president of Harry Winston. “We are very pleased to have attracted such significant talent to the company.”

As managing director of the Harry Winston Rare Timepieces unit, based in Geneva, Switzerland, Chatti will be responsible for operations of the watchmaking division. His appointment is effective Oct. 15. The company announcement doesn’t mention Maximilian Busser, who has been managing director of Harry Winston Rare Timepieces since late 1998.

Chatti is currently managing director of Montblanc Timepieces (part of the Richemont Group). During his tenure there, he oversaw integration of Montblanc’s design and technical departments (including product development, production, supply chain management, quality control and after-sales service), and introduced a comprehensive new product portfolio. Prior to Montblanc, Chatti was Piaget’s technical and quality director.

As managing director of international sales, Haumont will be in charge of retail and wholesale sales for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia (excluding Japan). He will also be based in Geneva.

Before joining Harry Winston, Haumont was worldwide commercial director for Boucheron (part of the Gucci Group). Prior to that, he was international retail director for Cartier and, earlier, managing director for the Richemont Group for the Pacific area.

JCK