RKeith W. Strandberg

TIME.It’s one of life’s most elusive things. For theirentire history, watchmakers have been tryingto control and regulate time, while the art offilm focuses on capturing moments in time. Inboth watches and films, the best results arethose efforts that are timeless.

Watches as symbolsWatches and clocks have been used as sym-bols throughout the history of film. RememberHarold Lloyd hanging from the giant clock in the1923 silent film “Safety Last”? In more recentmovies, “Back to the Future” is a masterpieceof manipulating time and using imagery regard-ing time.“Nick of Time” with Johnny Depp usedclocks and watches throughout, as it was amovie that unfolded in “real time”.“Memento”

and “Pulp Fiction” played with the way time ispresented in movies.In a way, every watch in every movie is a sym-bol—if only a symbol of what kind of characterthe actor is. In “Made of Honor”, for example,Patrick Dempsey wears a JeanRichard Tourbillonin just about every scene. It’s not so much astatement on time, it’s more of a statementabout him—he is a successful businessman,able to wear such an expensive watch.In the James Bond movies, Bond has alwaysworn an elegant, yet rough-and-tumble time-piece to reflect his personality. In the recentlyreleased “Skyfall”, Daniel Craig wears anOmega Seamaster Planet Ocean and, this yearbeing Bond’s 50th anniversary, Omega hascreated a special Skyfall Limited EditionSeamaster Planet Ocean for the occasion.

Product placementWatchmakers know that one of the best waysto get you to picture yourself wearing a spe-cial timepiece is to place one on the wrist ofthe star of a popular movie.As awareness of fine watches increases, andwatch brands become savvier about market-ing and promotion, watches are being show-

cased more and more in Hollywood. Whetherthese watches are on the wrists of theheroes (or villains) in the latest blockbustersor sparkling on the red carpet, watches aredefinitely ready for their close-ups.In the best product placements, watches arekey components to the definition of characterin movies. After all, characters are defined bythe choices they make: words, jobs, clothes,actions, cars and yes, watches.Product placement is good for movie producersbecause it helps defray expenses. "No matterwhat size the budget of the movie, it is hardfor producers to justify spending $30,000 ona watch or even $5,000, for that matter, andwe always need more than one for safety,"says Doug Harlocker, propmaster. "So theexchange of exposure for the use of goods isa very gratifying relationship—the productionvalue of the movie is heightened without cost-ing an arm and a leg."Watch placement can happen any number ofways. Many watch companies have represen-tatives who work to place watches with studiosand production companies. Sometimes, a pro-duction company will approach a watch brandabout using its products for a particular pro-

Cinema Paradiso: watches and cinema

i Left to right:Harold Lloyd in “Safety Last”Daniel Craig as James BondDiane Kruger wearing Jaeger-LeCoultre

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ject. At times, product placement is about his-torical accuracy, as in the movie "Pearl Harbor",for example,Touchstone Pictures wanted some-thing authentic and Hamilton Watch was amajor supplier to the US military during WorldWar II. The result? A huge close up of aHamilton watch, worn by Josh Hartnett, in thefinal cut of the movie.Another example is the Omega Speedmaster"Moon Watch", which played a part in thereal Apollo 13 mission—the astronauts usedit to time the start and stop of the engine onre-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere—it wasthe only correct choice of watch for RonHoward’s "Apollo 13".Some watch brands have relationships withactors who wear their products, and whenthat actor is in a movie, he or she can help getthe watch in front of the camera (John Travolta,a Breitling ambassador, wore his Breitling in“The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3”).On “Ocean's Twelve”, propmaster Harlockercarried around at least $250,000 worth ofwatches with him every day to satisfy all of theactors' characters. Brad Pitt, for instance, worea Breitling Emergency, a Chronoswiss, a white-gold Rolex, a Patek Philippe and a Hermès atdifferent times throughout the movie. George

Clooney wore a classic Hamilton in every scene."I could not have provided those watches with-out the help of the manufacturers," Harlockeradmits. “Brad Pitt, after being exposed to thatBreitling, purchased a half dozen of them forhis co-stars on ‘Oceans Twelve’. In a perfectworld, the actor will appreciate the product,wear it in the movie and in real life.”Ann Roth, costume designer on “Julie &Julia” and many others, is obsessive aboutgetting the watch right for each character onher projects. “I can hold up a movie set forhours choosing the right watch,” she says. “Ichoose the watch based on the character. Forexample, Ralph Fiennes needed a watch forhis character in ‘The English Patient’. He wasHungarian royalty in the 1920s, got involvedin the Royal Geographical Society, lived inLondon and Egypt, so the watch he wore hadto be really particular, I wanted the watch thatguy would wear. I found it in London, in a sec-ond hand shop, but I needed two of them, soI had a watchmaker make me another one. I amvery particular about the watches that charac-ters wear, as they say so much about them.”John Myhre, the production designer on “Nine”and other features, is interested in how awatch “helps with the story telling process,”

he says. “It’s a major definition of a person’scharacter. I will meet with the property masterand we’ll look at all the watches. The choiceof watches for movies is very important andthe right watch makes perfect sense, like theHamilton in ‘Amelia’. She wore a Hamilton inreal life, so it’s genius.”Some placements are chosen by the cast andcrew, some are paid for and still others are ajoint marketing effort—it all depends on themovie, the brand and the situation.“We do not financially support placements orthe gifting of merchandise for participationand have been forced to turn down opportu-nities because of this,” says Larry Pettinelli,president, Patek Philippe NA.“Therefore, and inmost cases, directors, producers, propmastersand stylists who have a genuine appreciationfor the timepieces and our brand approachour team. These individuals ultimately decidethat the inclusion will lend credibility to thestory line or characters involved.We scrutiniseevery opportunity and only commit to thosethat reflect our company values.”When product placement works, it is muchbetter than any advertising a company coulddo. The impact is greater, because the audi-ence is caught up in the plot of a great movie.“Product placement provides third partyendorsement for audiences,” adds Pettinelli.“If it occurs in an organic and appropriate set-ting, the results can serve to reinforce our brandmessage. The most successful placements forus have occurred when a timepiece becomesa natural part of the character or scene.”It's also possible that a watch supplied for amovie or TV show and worn during the shootwill never appear on screen, despite everyone'sbest efforts. After all, movies aren't editedwith watch placement in mind and what wasa great shot for the watch might not make itinto the final edit.

Watch creation for moviesSome watches, like the watch in StanleyKubrick’s "2001: A Space Odyssey", aredesigned specifically for films. Hamilton WatchThe Terminator wears Audemars Piguet

The Hamilton watchthat featured in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey

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Company was commissioned to make the"2001" watch, a special multi-timezone time-piece for the film and the company never evenconsidered selling the watch commercially, asit was too complicated (for the time). In 2006,Hamilton finally made a limited edition rein-terpretation of this watch, 30 years after theoriginal film. How limited was this timepiece?You guessed it, 2001 pieces."For Russell Crowe in 'Master and Commander',I contacted Breguet to duplicate a watch thatthey had made in the 1700s to use in thefilm,” Harlocker remembers. “They took it onas a challenge and delivered a magnificentpocket watch absolutely authentic to theperiod at no charge to us. What did they getout of it? Well, people saw that movie and sawRussell using it. It is a strong association.”Arnold Schwarzenegger has worn AudemarsPiguet watches in movies for quite some time,including "End of Days", the "Terminator"series and more. For "End of Days",AudemarsPiguet created a new Royal Oak Offshore.Schwarzenegger even worked with the com-pany on the design of the watch.

Impact on salesThough watch manufacturers are reluctant tosay that the appearance of their productboosts sales dramatically, watch retailers do

mention that an increase of interest andawareness, if not sales, occurs.Hamilton Watch has had a host of movie tie-ins, the most successful and visible being theirinvolvement with the "Men in Black" movies—where they took a classic Hamilton design andput it on the wrists of the two leads, TommyLee Jones and Will Smith.The result? The watchbecame a sales leader.Retailers report customers coming in andasking for the watches by the name of themovie or the character, not even knowing thebrand name.Next time you're at the cinema, or just watchingTV at home, pay attention to the wristwatchesthat the characters wear. If you can barely seethe wristwatch, chances are it's not a productplacement. If you can see the brand clearly, andthe watch itself has its own tight shot, then it'smore than likely a product placement.As watches continue to increase in popularityand visibility, you can expect to see moreplacements in the movies and TV.

The red carpetRed carpet events are the height of Hollywoodglitz and glamour—a showcase of entertain-ment’s elite—where the stars come out toshine and where high-end designer fashiontakes to the spotlight. It is the stage on which

the crème de la crème of luxury retail flextheir muscles in an all-out star-studded adver-tising affair. And, now, more than ever before,watchmakers are figuring prominently inred-carpet looks across the awards seasonlandscape.

How it startedWhen “Who are you wearing?” became a com-mon question shouted by reporters and photog-raphers, brands hustled to provide the answer.Fashion designers and jewellery companieswere the first to respond, with watches com-ing a little later to the party. After all, womenget most of the attention with their colourfuland unique dresses, and most women don’twear a watch with a beautiful gown. Watchcompanies have recently been working hardto change this by putting their watches onboth celebrity men and women.“The problem is that actresses’ arms are nor-mally not covered so they don’t want to weara big wristwatch,” says Jérôme Lambert, pres-ident of Swiss watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre,a long-time sponsor of the Venice, Abu Dhabiand San Sebastián film festivals and others.“We have some beautiful tiny watches, andthese watches can fit quite well on the redcarpet. More and more actresses are consid-ering watches, rather than going with huge

Special award watchesby Jaeger-LeCoultre

The Hamilton watches featured in the “Men In Black” series

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diamond necklaces, bracelets and earrings, asthere is a lower insurance risk.“For men, we are getting more and moreactors, directors and producers wearing ourwatches,” Lambert continues. “The Jaeger-LeCoultre brand is getting much more aware-ness, and creating strong relationships withcreative people, and that’s how we have beenable to get our watches on the Red Carpet.”Harry Winston has perhaps the longest historyof working with celebrities—it was in 1944

that Harry Winston began to solidify his repu-tation as the “Jeweller to the Stars”, when thebrand became the very first jeweller to dressan actress, Jennifer Jones, for the AcademyAwards. The red carpet tradition, with bothjewellery and watches, is still very much a partof the company today.Chopard has been involved in an officialcapacity with red carpet events for more than15 years, starting with jewellery and goinginto watches, most visibly with the Cannes

Film Festival. "I have always loved film, and itwas in 1998 when I was asked by the CannesFilm Festival’s president, Pierre Viot, to redesignthe coveted Palme d’Or that Chopard becamethe Official partner of the Cannes Film Festival,”says Caroline Scheufele, co-president andartistic director of Chopard. “Our involvementwith these prestigious events solidifies ourlove for the art of film and beautiful jewelleryand watch creations.”Piaget has also been quite visible on the redcarpet. Explains Larry Boland, president, PiagetNorth America, “Piaget watches and jewelleryhave always been a favourite of high-profileindividuals and the brand has a longstandinglove affair with cinema and the arts. Dressingcelebrities exposes us to new audiences andhelps attract new consumers and brings glam-our and excitement to the brand and strength-ens our relationship with Hollywood.”Swiss watchmaker Baume & Mercier launchedan advertising campaign a few years ago thatfeatured Andy Garcia, Teri Hatcher, AshtonKutcher and other red carpet regulars. “Thiscampaign caught the attention of both con-sumers and professionals in Hollywood andinspired many to make Baume & Mercier theirtimepiece choice for everyday wear as well as

Jude Law wearing ChopardNiels Schneider wearing Chopard

Bianca Balti with Fawaz Gruosi of de Grisogono Owen Wilson wearing PiagetEmmanuel Chriqui wearing Baume & Mercier

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for special occasions,” Rudy Chavez, president,Baume & Mercier North America, says. Morerecently, Baume & Mercier has become thelead sponsor of the Hamptons InternationalFilm Festival.Hamilton Watch, in addition to being veryactive in product placement around theworld, is the official sponsor of the “HamiltonBehind the CameraAwards”, held in Hollywoodand Beijing. “The recognition of these off-screen talents is underlined with the presenta-tion of the awards by leading actors, actressesand other movie professionals, who are wear-ing our watches,” says Sylvain Dolla, CEO,Hamilton International. “Celebrities attendingthe Hamilton Behind the Camera Awardscome because they want to support one ormore honourees they worked with on differ-ent projects.”

Dressing the starsWatches or jewellery on celebrities might havegotten there in a number of ways. Sometimes,the celebrities themselves, who might be fansof the brand, request to wear a piece or theagent/manger/stylist makes the initial con-tact, looking to borrow a watch or a piece ofhigh jewellery for their clients. In other cases,the brands reach out to celebrities.“We love to dress friends of Piaget,” Piaget’s

Boland says. “If celebrities make a request andwe are able to accommodate them, we do.Other times, we are captivated by the perfor-mance of a certain star, or we feel that theyexemplify the ideals of the brand, and we letthem know it would be our pleasure to dressthem in Piaget.”Working with actors and celebrities isn’t easy,as they are notoriously demanding and knowwhat they like and want.“When a client selectsa piece of high jewellery or a fine watch, theyare looking for something very meaningfuland very unique,” says Frédéric de Narp, pres-ident, Harry Winston. “It is an extension ofwho they are—their personal style, taste, andeven comfort—so it’s about finding some-thing truly exceptional just for them. This inti-mate and highly personalised approachallows us to give the clients we work with thecomplete Harry Winston experience at thehighest level.”Some companies set up suites where thecelebrities or their representatives come into choose what watches and jewellery theywill wear. Other times, they will come intothe LA offices or boutiques of a brand tomake their choices.“At Cannes for example, the celebrities like tocome to our suite at the Hotel Martinez tochoose for themselves, while other times the

celebrity works with a stylist who comes to usto see the entire collection and selects a fewitems from there,” says Fawaz Gruosi, presidentof watch and jewellery company de Grisogono.Do red carpet placements have any effect onsales? There is no empirical data, but the gen-eral consensus is that it certainly helps aware-ness, and these placements certainly can’t hurt.“When a famous celebrity is seen wearingone of our watches or a piece of jewellery,we will often see an immediate increase indemand,” Piaget’s Boland says. “Celebritiescan also spark trends. When Rihanna wore aclassic gold Piaget Polo in her music video,‘Take a Bow’, and on the red carpet, it quicklybecame popular with fashion editors andother celebrities.“Sometimes the pieces worn on the red carpetare on loan and sometimes they have actuallybeen purchased by the celebrity,” Boland con-tinues. “Once a person wears a Piaget time-piece or jewellery, they often fall in love withit, and buy it.”Because of the efforts of watch companies,more and more actors, directors and produc-ers are wearing watches on the red carpet."The trend on the red carpet for men is classicand timeless,” Boland adds. “It's why you'reseeing Hollywood's leading men wearingdress watches again. The actors are choosing

Nicole Kidman for OmegaHarrison Ford at the Hamilton “Behind the Camera” awards Leonardo DiCaprio for TAG Heuer

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slim, elegant dress watches to complete theirlooks. Our Black Tie Collection and Altiplanosare in huge demand during awards seasonbecause they are so discreet and slip easilyunder the sleeve of your tux.”

Actors as ambassadorsAs long as celebrities have been celebrities,they have been associated with selling prod-ucts. There are many companies, like Baume &Mercier, TAG Heuer, Roger Dubuis, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Breitling and more, who activelyuse actors as ambassadors.“Omega ambassadors play an important role—they bring a human face to the values of thebrand,” explains Stephen Urquhart, Presidentof Omega. “Because our ambassadors havegenerally achieved great international popu-larity and success, they bring instant world-wide recognition to Omega—something thatcannot be easily matched through traditionalmarketing channels. Our culture loves celebri-ties and working with people who are notonly well-known but remarkably talented andpublic-spirited is an essential part of our mar-keting mix.“We can certainly point to our association withJames Bond as a success story. Each time anew film is released we clearly see a renewedinterest in the Seamasters 007 wears in the

film. Of course, we have James Bond, the char-acter, and Daniel Craig, the actor, as ambas-sadors so our connection to the franchise isvery strong.”TAG Heuer also uses actors successfully, likeBrad Pitt, Cameron Diaz and Leonardo DiCaprio.“Buying a luxury watch is not only about buy-ing a product but also about buying a dream,”says Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO, TAG Heuer.“A relevant ambassador contributes to createa universe, a lifestyle, a success story around aspecific range.“Actors and celebrities help to attract atten-tion within a wide offer and allow the brandto differentiate itself from others,” he continues.“In a given magazine where you can have upto 50 pages of advertising, it is key to standout from the crowd. Of course the first lever-age to do so is the design of the watches, buta famous icon such as Leonardo DiCaprio orCameron Diaz makes it more special and cre-ates a recall in consumers' minds.They will alsogenerate storytelling and, as a consequence,editorials. Finally, during events, celebritiesbring their glamorous aura and generate ageneral feeling of prestige.”In the past, TAG Heuer used athletes asambassadors and this resulted in achievinggreat success as a sports watch brand. TAGHeuer felt that this designation was holding

them back from realising the brand’s potential.“Therefore we decided to balance our com-munication and added Brad Pitt to our ambas-sadors team,” Babin details. “He strongly con-tributed to developing our Carrera line as anicon. Now Leo and Cameron do the samething. Thanks to them, we can say today thatwe are not a sports brand anymore, but a lux-ury brand inspired by sport.”

Other cinematic effortsMontblanc focused on cinema with its recent“Beauty of a Second” short film contest.Presented in 2011, Montblanc asked the pub-lic to submit one-second videos, reinforcingthe value of time and Montblanc’s place in it.To raise its brand awareness in films andmedia even more, Hamilton Watch has part-nered with film schools around the world,spreading the Hamilton message to writersand directors before they even get into theindustry. In exchange for funds to buy equip-ment, Hamilton has these students producingshort works that it uses on its website and inits promotions.In 2009, Hamilton began working with theOsaka Communication Arts School in Japan.In addition, they are working with otherschools, including Webster University inGeneva, Switzerland and other premiere com-munication schools around the world.Rolex has been working in cinema with itsMentor & Protégé program. Some of the lumi-naries who have been involved with the pro-gram include Martin Scorsese, Zhang Yimou,Walter Murch and Stephen Frears [See PierreMaillard’s article on the Rolex Mentor & ProtégéArts Initiative in this issue].

There are many ways the watch industry andthe entertainment world work together. Asconsumers continue to get bombarded bythousands of media messages a day, brandswill continue to find new and inventive waysof standing out from the crowd.And you can bet that means more involve-ment in entertainment.O

Rolex mentor Martin Scorsese with protégée Celina MurgaCameron Diaz for TAG Heuer

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