WHAT goes on behind the scenes from the time a seed of inspiration is sown until a watch is born? According to Piaget's chief executive officer, Philippe Leopold-Metzger, the first step is establishing whether the idea is deserving of the limelight in terms of theme and design. He says: 'Every year for five years now we've come up with a thematic collection (called the Limelight collection). To choose the inspirations for this we call our designers together - Piaget has 850 workers in all including 400 craftsmen, which should give you a pretty good idea of where our focus is - to shortlist the best and most exciting ones. 'It's important to produce wonderful pieces that will still be wearable in future, which isn't the case with some designs today - they're what I call 'Star Wars' watches. 'I have nothing against technological advancements,' he continues, 'but they must be practical.'

The Jedi Knight with a mission, who has headed the Swiss company for nine years and spent 28 years in business development for the luxury industry, was in town last week for the launch of the Piaget Limelight Paris-New York collection, a dazzling series of diamond-encrusted jewellery and watches based on the two cities' architecture and personality. 'Those are some of the most vibrant places in the world,' he says of Piaget's decision to focus on Paris and New York. 'They are capitals of design and fashion.'

While the collection has already found fans in stylish celebrities such as actresses Liv Tyler and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mr Leopold-Metzger says his personal favourite Piaget accessory is actually a 20-year-old skeleton watch that he has loaned to the Piaget Time Gallery in Geneva from his collection of '25 to 30 watches'.

'This one, I like,' he says. 'It shows in a single product combination the art of our watchmakers and jewellers. I also have another one that means a lot to me - a Cartier that my mother gave me when I got engaged in 1981. It coincided with the day that I joined the luxury world, and it's very simple and classical.'

These days, though, the situation has turned on its head. In response to our question on whether or not the luxury market is growing, Mr Leopold-Metzger replies with a grin: 'Oh yes. These days an increasing number of younger people appreciate and buy branded goods. And the older people - they're still going for it too. My mother is 87 years old and she's still expecting a gift for her birthday!'

This article was first published in The Business Times on Sept 20, 2008.