Harry Winston Tops Ultra-Luxury Consumer Survey

It's official. For the ultra-wealthy, Harry Winston is the most prestigious jeweler. That's the conclusion of the 'Luxury Brand Status Index ultra-luxury jewelry survey' from the New York City-based Luxury Institute. In the survey, Tiffany and Cartier tied for second place; Mikimoto came in third.

In the survey, which rated 23 jewelry brands, Harry Winston achieved strong first place finishes for consistently superior quality, uniqueness and exclusivity, social status, and customer experience. Of the four measurable components, says the Institute, Harry Winston's margin of superiority over other jewelry brands is largest on the dimension of its ability to make its customers feel special across the entire experience. Harry Winston is the luxury jewelry brand with the strongest perceived worthiness of charging a significant price premium.

"In addition to the consumer ratings, the survey delivers two major insights. One, that in luxury jewelry, customer experience is the greatest differentiator for wealthy consumers. Second, in a world full of conflicts of interest, wealthy consumers trust and rely upon transparent peer reviews when shopping luxury goods and services. Through our objective surveys, consumers tell us and their peers their preferences, to the betterment of both consumers and luxury companies alike," said Milton Pedraza, CEO, of the Luxury Institute. "The world's leading luxury executives are embracing objective and independent client feedback as a most powerful marketing tool."

The 23 brands included in the survey were: Asprey, Bailey, Banks and Biddle, Blue Nile, Boucheron, Buccellati, Bulgari, Carrera & Carrera, Cartier, Chanel, Chopard, David Yurman, De Beers, Dior, Graff, Gucci, H Stern, Harry Winston, Jacob & Co., Mikimoto, Piaget, Tiffany, Van Cleef and Arpel, and Zales.

The Luxury Institute surveyed a representative sample of more than 400 households with a minimum of $200,000 gross annual household income and minimum household net worth of $5 million (including home equity). Some mainstream brands were included for comparative purposes.

The Luxury Institute is an independent research institution that focuses solely on the top 10 percent of America's wealthiest households.