Tourneau, LLC, is a luxury watch retailer established in 1900 and based in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In 2018 Tourneau was purchased by the European retailer, Bucherer AG. The company carries over 8,000 styles of men’s and women’s watches from nearly 40 luxury brands. Tourneau also sells certified pre-owned watches; offering a trade-in program for upgrading watch styles.

History

In 1900, the Tourneau family established a watch selling business in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, fleeing to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

after the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

before emigrating to New York City in 1924. The Tourneau brothers opened a small dressmaking shop, with a watch counter, in the Berkshire Place Hotel. They followed this with the company's first full shop at

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...

and 49th Street in 1930. In 1940 a second location was founded in the Pennsylvania Hotel across from

Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals. Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * Pennsylvania Station (Cinc ...

. The first west coast store was opened during the 1990s in the

South Coast Plaza South Coast Plaza is a regional shopping mall in Costa Mesa, California. The largest shopping center on the West Coast of the United States, its pre-COVID sales of over $1.5 billion annually were the highest in the United States. Its 275 retail ...

mall in

Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of t ...

. In 1997 the company opened The Tourneau TimeMachine on 57th Street in New York City, and was at the time the world's largest watch store. Then in 2005, the Tourneau Time Dome in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

assumed the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

. In 2011 Tourneau began selling a contemporary collection of watches named the TNY Series that has been inspired by the architecture and design of New York City. In 2012, Tourneau partnered with

Product Red Product Red, stylized as (PRODUCT) or (PRODUCT)RED, is a licensed brand by the company Red, stylized as (RED), that seeks to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds to help eliminate HIV/AIDS in eight African countries, namely Es ...

to produce TOURNEAU (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition watches. 15% of the retail price of each (TOURNEAU)RED watch is donated to

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (or simply the Global Fund) is an international financing and partnership organization that aims to "attract, leverage and invest additional resources to end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, t ...

. In March 2015, a third NYC store was opened in

Bryant Park Bryant Park is a public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Privately managed, it is located between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas ( Sixth Avenue) and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. The e ...

Operations

By 2015 the company had 33 stores across 13 states, including the

flagship store A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

s in

and New York. Tourneau is currently the largest authorized retailer of timepieces in the United States, with about 8,000 watches and 100 brands. Tourneau also has a trade-in program for upgrading watch styles. Tourneau is the point of purchase for both the regular collections of time piece brands, as well as limited edition lines that are available only at Tourneau stores. Tourneau stores also host exhibitions of rare time pieces and events. In addition to its retail locations, Tourneau has a watch servicing center in

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...

and it also operates an e-commerce site.

References

External links

*{{official, http://www.tourneau.com/ Jewelry retailers of the United States American companies established in 1900 Manufacturing companies established in 1900 Retail companies established in 1900 Retail companies based in New York (state) 1900 establishments in the Russian Empire