Tiffany Ordered to Pay Swatch $449M in Contractual Dispute

In the case of New York jewelry versus Swiss watches (Swatch), a Dutch arbitration court has ruled in favor of the Swiss, ordering Tiffany to pay nearly half a billion dollars in damages to Swatch, the companies announced Sunday afternoon. As a result of the punitive damages, Tiffany slashed its full-year fiscal 2013 outlook. The Netherlands Arbitration Institute ruled that Tiffany must pay Swatch $449 million as a result of a contractual dispute that arose as a result of a joint venture the two companies entered in 2007.