Seth Godin, marketing guru and author, recently wrote about celebrity endorsements and refers to Omega’s Pierce Brosnan deal in a recent entry in the book blog of his latest book - “All Marketers are Liars”:
“One of my favorite silly endorsements is Pierce Brosnan endorsing Omega. They’re not paying Pierce because they care about Pierce’s opinion (or that you care about his opinion). They’re paying him because he embodies a fictional character, invented fifty years ago by a now-dead author.
So, otherwise rational and intelligent men spend hundreds or thousands of dollars extra to buy a watch endorsed by a fictional character controlled by anonymous film producers and embodied by an actor. Because it makes them feel good. They buy the story.”
The first time I came across the Time Tag, a similar time clip, I didn’t realize how popular these little mini time devices were among people who didn’t normally wear watches. So when I came across the Stik, I naturally sat up and paid attention - Billed as “part tattoo, part sticker, part watch”, The Stik sticks everywhere including your body. Unfortunately, the watch face isn’t very inspiring with a retro bland look that only a mother would love. The stickers don’t help much and, atleast for me, it just reeks of cheap chinese imitation.
The latest gem at Bulgari’s permanent stable at Baselworld 2005 (Instead of a regular booth, Bulgari has a seperate permanent exhibit/store at the Basel district) was the Ipno, another in a line of luxury digital watches, wrapped in a ceramic and diamond case with a satin strap, complete with a rotating ring that activates the backlight.
Look Ma, No Hands! Issey Miyake’s sexy new watch, TO, by Designer Tokujin Yoshioka takes its inspiration from Ron Arad’s Look no Hands watch by using two rotating disks instead of hands to tell time.
One of my favourites this year is the new Louis Vuitton Speedy (Automatic). Not content with driving a stake through my heart by owning luxury brands Dior, Tagheur and Ebel, Louis Vuitton is stepping up its watch offering by following up their tambour collection with this new neo-retro collection.
The luxury brand first ventured into the world of watches in 1986 in collaboration with IWC, but it wasn’t until 2002 that they actively start creating their own timepieces under their Vuitton banner.
The Speedy retails for $5,150 and the Duo Jet for $3,300. (more…)
Sitting on a tree, K I S S … *cough* So Charlize Theron is the new face of Raymond Weil. A good move for them. They needed that bit of oomph. However, from the looks of their Theron press release, the brand has no plans to drop its pretentious copywriter - “When talent and elegance meet with the passion and aesthetic of watch making, it results in an unforgettable encounter, a moment of pure magic where time seems to vanish in the air”
The three-dimensional dial isn’t the only thing that sets the Oiva apart. The watch case is made of modified AISI 420 steel (Stavax ESR) which in layman terms makes it almost scratchproof and three times the hardness of conventional stainless steel.
The Oiva is the latest by Finnish watchmarker Stepan Sarpaneva who’s been churning out limited design editions under his label ‘Sarpaneva’. Retail prices start at 4150 Euros.
Tucked under the armpit of Pierce Brosnan is a copy of the Weekend Standard that has the goods on Omega’s single biggest customer - North Korea’s Kim Jong Il. (cue dramatic music)
According to the article, the Korean dictator moonlights as Omega’s unofficial brand ambassador by spending approximately about USD $ 1.1 million every year on Omega watches and since 1998, Kim has used the extra aid he received to fight famine in his country to purchase a total of USD $10 million of Omega’s over three years!
Zone is New York based design group Intoto’s prototype travel watch that allows you to quick refer to time in different cities. We’ve no word on whether this will ever get manufactured on a mass scale.
