Tiffany was ordered to pay the equivalent of $449.5 million in damages to the Swiss watchmaker, an amount that exceeds Tiffany's earnings for last year.
Since acquiring the Hôtel des Ventes in 2006, Bernard Piguet has sought to reverse the fortunes of a business that struggled for much of its three decades. Now his efforts appear to be bearing fruit.
Shipments of timepieces to China from Switzerland, the world's dominant watch production center, have fallen below the levels of two years ago, after setting a record in 2012.
The Swiss watch industry wants to tighten requirements so that 80 percent of the value of the watch has to be made locally, rather than in countries like China.
In January, Swatch, the Swiss timepiece maker, will cut back its sales of watch components to competitors, a move that is fanning resentment of Swatch’s clout and size in the industry.