For the second time in a row, the traditional watch manufactory A. Lange & Söhne comes out top of the ranking of German luxury brands, published by the business news magazine “Wirtschaftswoche” in its edition of 17 August 2009.

German fashion company Escada AG filed for bankruptcy after being unable to obtain sufficient financing, a Munich district court said Thursday.

The company carries around $100 million in debt and has struggled over the past year as the market for luxury goods has declined.

Founded as a knitwear company in 1976 by husband and wife Wolfgang and Margaretha Ley, Escada employs more than 2,300 people across the globe.

German pooches are getting the royal treatment as owners dish out more than $7 billion each year for pedicures, winter jackets and even wedding dresses for their dogs, the German Kennel Club (VDH) said on Monday.

Boutiques are popping up in cities across the country along with many websites that let owners buy posh accessories for their pups.

Monika Knut, the owner of Hundestolz (Dog Pride) boutique in Düsseldorf says owners frequently come in looking for outfits for their pets to match their own.

Cruiser ship Celebrity Equinox leaves the Meyer Papenburg shipyard en-route to Eemshaven in the Netherlands on June 20, 2009 in Papenburg, Germany.

The 317 metres long and 36,8 metres wide ship is one of five luxury cruise ships, which will be built for the American shipping company Celebrity Cruises until 2011.

Russian oligarch, Roman Abramovich’s mega-yacht ‘Eclipse’ has finally made a preliminary launch at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany where it was built secretly for more than two years.

Estimated to have cost around $500 million, the vessel is nearly 170 meters long.

It has room for 24 guests, with a crew of 70. It is 13,000 tonnes, and can achieve a top speed of 33 knots. Its cruising speed is 22 knots.

A German asset management company plans to set up 500 “Gold-to-Go” ATMs in Germany, Switzerland and Austria this year.

A gold-dispensing automatic teller machine (ATM) was on display at Frankfurt’s main railway station for a one-day marketing test this week.

A one-gram piece of gold, the size of a child’s little fingernail and about as thin, cost US$42.25-a 30% premium to the spot market price.