Bering launches in Australia

6.7 k views | Posted September 03, 2012 | By Dean Millard • Staff Journalist

BYMR unveiled Danish watch brand Bering as the fourth and newest key watch brand in its stable at the Sydney International Jewellery Fair this weekend.

The Australian distributor formerly known as Jarass has undergone significant changes to its branding this year but has maintained its fascination with simple and elegant watch designs.

Bering joins other watch brands Braun, Gant and Rosendahl as the four new additions to the BYMR stable of brands this year.

Created by Danish adventurer and businessman Rene Kaerskov in collaboration with friend Michael Witt Johansen, Bering was inspired by the simple beauty and infinite white expanse of ice Kaerskov observed on a trip to the North Pole while trying to promote Earth Hour in Denmark.

The Bering name itself comes from Danish Explorer Vitus Bering, who in 1728 was the first person to discover Siberia and Alaska were separated by what is now called the Bering Strait.

Bering is now distributed in 25 countries and has signed 90 new stockists per month globally since its inception.

Danish watch brand Bering offers both male and female watches.

While the brand’s minimalist design elements are a key selling point, Bering has also developed some unique initiatives. Rather than just being inspired by the Arctic, Bering donates 100 per cent of the profits from its limited edition diamond collection to Polar Bears International in an effort to help protect the wildlife that helped to inspire it.

The brand also uses a unique recycled glass-packaging concept that purports to have multiple uses once opened.

Witt Johansen was at the Sydney Trade Fair this week and said it was amazing that from his friend’s idea to raise awareness of global warming four years ago by parachuting into the North Pole this watch brand had grown so quickly.

“He had a crazy idea to parachute over the North Pole, jumping onto the ice,” Witt Johnasen said. “This created a lot of fuss and awareness and got more than 500,000 people in Denmark to switch off their lights as part of Earth Hour. While there, the majestic beauty of the ice inspired him, so Bering is inspired by that ice.”

Witt Johanson said the company had spent two years refining its ultra-thin, high technology ceramic for the watches before launching in Germany two years ago.

He said while he was confident of the brand doing well on launch, the response had surprised him as almost every retailer had bought in with the full tower display straight away, which in turn had led to good sell through results.

“Those towers, design and packaging make the difference, that is the reason for the good sell-through around the world, it speaks for itself. The quality is also very good, so there are a lot of arguments to buy that watch.”

Each watch features European sapphire crystal and is water resistant to 5ATM and comes with a limited lifetime warranty. Witt Johanson said for the brand to be able to put a watch on the market with all of these features and such an impressive design at an entry price point of $125 made it an attractive prospect for many retailers.