Back in July, as I made my way to the LUXURY Privé show taking place in the ballroom of New York City’s Waldorf Astoria, I veered off course to pop by the Cellini watch and jewelry boutique inside the hotel. I wanted to check out the mechanical and bejeweled wonders in its cases. After about 10 minutes of admiring timepieces by some of the world’s finest makers, from A. Lange & Söhne to Zenith, owner Leon Adams came over to say hi and we got into an impromptu discussion about pricing, products, and the essence of luxury (“exclusivity,” he declared). “Right now, the biggest draws are smaller production companies,” Adams said, referring to wristwatches by independent watchmakers such as the Geneva-based Laurent Ferrier. “The bigger, mass-produced brands are really hurting. They’re charging luxury prices for product produced in commodity quantities.” As we barrel