By Clint Chan Tack Wednesday, November 25 2009

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Joke boy!: The joke must have been sweet if we are to judge from the reactions of Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma, left, and Prime Mini...

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PRIME MINISTER Patrick Manning was yesterday given a special Cimier Swiss wrist watch which was created specially for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) which takes place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Conference Centre in Port-of-Spain from Friday to Sunday.

The watch was presented to Manning by Vijay Eswaran, executive chairman of Hong Kong- based QI Limited, after he delivered the inaugural address to open the Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) aboard the cruise ship Serenade of the Seas in Port-of-Spain. The watch which Manning received was a 1924 Cimier wrist watch which bore a gold insignia of the 2009 CHOGM. Newsday was informed that Manning received this watch as the host leader for CHOGM. The other Heads of State attending the CHOGM will be given 1924 Cimier watches with a silver CHOGM logo.

Checks by Newsday indicated that luxury watches like the Cimier could go for a minimum of TT$10,000. Should pure gold be incorporated into the watch, the price could reach a maximum of TT$15,000. Luxury watches with pure silver are sold for slightly less than their gold counterparts.

Local jewellers said the cost of these kinds of luxury watches is dependent on the purity of the metal alloy. Cimier watches are handcrafted luxury watches which have been manufactured by Lapenouse SA in Switzerland since 1924.