Face scrunched up into a scowl, Mr Francois-Henry Bennahmias stormed out of a meeting room at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie Geneve (SIHH), the international watch fair held in January this year.

The head honcho of Audemars Piguet (AP) reappeared minutes later with Mr Oliviero Bottinelli, former managing director of AP Singapore, who now sits on the luxury Swiss watchmaker's board.