If I had to define glamour, I would say that it is a concoction of beauty and luxury, mixed up with a little charm and excitement, maybe some romance and fashion thrown in for good measure and a big dollop of sex appeal. But, the essential ingredient is most definitely envy. As John Berger, the British novelist and painter, puts it, “Glamour cannot exist without personal social envy being a common and widespread emotion.”

There are three ways to tap into the envy factor with watches.
Firstly, have a limited edition timepiece that is so rare and/or expensive that only a few, very lucky people, can get their hands on it, leaving everyone else writhing with jealousy. Secondly, enter into the retailer’s nightmare of commissioning a special version of a regular line model that can take months to be delivered but guarantees exclusivity. And thirdly, purchase a wristwatch from a glamorous brand, such as Bédat & Co., Chanel, Chopard, Corum, De Grisogono, Ebel, Glam Rock, Omega or Zenith to name but a few.

Limited editions
In the limited edition arena there are a number of choices: Jean Dunand’s Tourbillon Orbital springs to mind, as does Harry Winston’s Ultime collection. Hublot’s Big Bang Diamond tourbillon with 493 diamonds would also do the trick. But if your clients don’t have the bank accounts of Bill Gates or Warren Buffet then maybe a piece from one of the independent watchmakers would be a good choice. The majority of the independent watchmakers craft their timepieces by hand and therefore have an extremely limited production per year. The AHCI (Académie des Horlogers Créateurs Indépendants) would be the place to start or the www.europastar.com website, of course.




TOURBILLON ORBITAL by Jean Dunand, Golay Spierer, LEOPARD by Delaneau


Bespoke watches
There are also bespoke watches for the in-curable collector. The workshop of Chrisophe Golay and Emile Spierer only make made-to-measure watches, where the client follows every step of the creation of his or her watch. The Geneva-based brand, Delaneau, is also known for making bespoke enamel pieces for its fortuned clients. However, it is often also possible to order something special from a company’s regular line too – an original coloured strap or stone setting. But, be warned, these are not for your impatient clients. Special commissions can take many months to produce and should require a considerable down-payment – after all no one wants to end up with a brown gold watch with pink sapphires and a lime green strap if the customer loses interest and abandons the purchase!

Glamorous lifestyles
The good news for us mere mortals is that many watch brands are now focusing on promoting a glamorous lifestyle in their communication strategies, allowing their customers to access the world of glamour without the high price attached to a unique piece.
I recently received a cd-rom from Ebel with the making of their advertisement campaign featuring the top model Gisèle Bündchen – just looking at the photos made me wish I could be like her, have an LA home like her, with an enormous swimming pool, perfect skin and look as good in a bikini - whoops, sorry, I got a little carried away there - I can, however, purchase the same 1911 Chronograph and be a little bit like Gisèle! This kind of lifestyle advertising evokes a glamorous image or way of life that intends to appeal to customers who lead the same lifestyle or who, like the case of me and Gisèle, aspire to such a life.

Glamour for the boys
For the boys, Corum turns on the glamour by appealing to those who like to play hard - flying by private jet, dining in beautiful female company in Tuscany or navigating the oceans on an American’s cup racing yacht – who wouldn’t love such a glamorous life?
But if that isn’t exciting enough, maybe James Bond’s Omega Seamaster 300M Chronometer with its exclusive co-axial movement will appeal to those looking for a more heroic type of glamour. Failing that, there are those who are just glamorous without even trying, like the ambassadors from Carl F. Bucherer who are portrayed as regular people in the public eye whose glamour comes from being successful while keeping their feet firmly on the ground.




Gisèle Bündchen for Ebel, Corum's lifestyle ad campaign, Carl-F. Bücherer uses a mixture of successful people and celebrities in its ad campaign


Watches on the big screen
James Bond isn’t the only one adding glamour to watches on the big screen. Ellen Barkin, the American actress in ‘Ocean’s 13’, recently chose a watch from Bédat & Co.’s No. 7 collection, with a red alligator strap and diamonds, to wear during filming. Baume and Mercier’s Riviera is currently playing on the wrist of Catherine Zeta-Jones in the film ‘No Reservations’, Anne Hathaway can be seen sporting Piaget’s Miss Protocole in ‘Becoming Jane’, the story of Jane Austen, and Hamilton, the king of product placement, has made appearances in over 50 films to date. Whether future customers really notice the split-second shot of a watch is yet to be determined, but for the rest of us in the watch industry, it is always fun to play the ‘name that watch’ game!




No. 7 by Bédat & Co., RIVIERA L WHITE WAVE by Baume & Mercier, MAGIC HOUR by Piaget


The rich and famous
Chopard and de Grisogono are in quite a separate category. While their advertising campaigns are predominantly product based, they live in the world of glamour, both dressing film and pop stars at all the top celebrity events. Take one look at the de Grisogono website and you are taken on a journey with the rich and famous from Cannes to Gstaad via Sardinia. Who wouldn’t want to be invited to one of those parties on the beaches of Porto Cervo or walk down the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival?




de Grisogono in Sardinia, PREMIERE by Chanel, CRUISE LINE COLLECTION by Glam Rock


Fairy princesses
According to the dictionary, one of the first definitions of glamour is to cast a spell over someone. Chopard has certainly captured this kind of enchantment with its latest advertising campaign, which is aptly entitled a ‘Kind of Magic’. The advertisements feature models and products with a sprinkling of diamonds around them like the dust from a magic wand, making the models look like fairytale princesses – one of the first dreams of all little girls, right? Well at least my youngest daughter who insists that she is going to be a princess when she grows up. Look out Prince William and Prince Harry!

Haute couture
Then there are the haute couture brands such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermès, where the names themselves ooze glamour. All three brands don’t just play on their reputation though, the energy injected into their watch development is as important as their clothes and leather goods. All three brands work with the best Swiss watchmakers. Hermès has even invested 25 million Swiss Francs into Vaucher Manufacture to ensure supply and quality of its timepieces.




TAMBOUR by Louis Vuitton, PASSE PASSE by Hermès


Glamour and rock ‘n roll
I couldn’t write an article about watches and glamour without mentioning brands that actually use the word ‘glam’. First up is the brand Glam Rock, which uses the shortened ‘glam’ in its name. Founded in Miami in 2005, the brand is inspired by the sparkling and glamorous Miami lifestyle. Its collections, are a combination of glamour and Rock ‘n Roll with a choice of all the colours under the Miami sun. For more information about Glam Rock see Pierre Maillard’s article The Contemporary glamour of Glam Rock in Europa Star 02/2007.
Secondly, Zenith also uses the successful combination of glamour and Rock ‘n Roll in its ladies’ collection, entitled Star Glam’Rock. Diamonds, stars, leather, metal and a powerful advertising campaign, with fast cars and Harley Davidsons, create a powerful image of freedom and independence for today’s modern women. Zenith has even created a short film to go with the advertising campaign to promote the collection.




GENEROSI-T by Tissot, STAR GLAM'ROCK by Zenith, Zenith Glam'Rock ad


Sports heroes
Glamour isn’t only connected to the world of the stage - sports stars also have the envy factor. Whether it’s tennis, racing cars, horse riding, golf, swimming or football; there are many watches and personalities to choose from. TAG Heuer’s sports ambassadors include the famous names of Tiger Woods and Maria Sharapova among others. Tissot works with the likes of MotoGP star Nicky Hayden and the female racing car driver Danica Patrick, while Rolex sponsors dozens of young sportsmen and women like the tennis legend Roger Federer.
The list of brands continues. The truth is that it would be easier to come up with a list of watch brands that don’t have some connection with the world of glamour than list those that do. It seems that everyone is using glamorous people, events or advertising campaigns to get their customer’s attention. Go back ten years and the big Swiss brands were promoting the technical side of the watch – remember all those advertisements with the watchmaker’s bench in the background or the watchmaker himself looking like a wise old owl? There were some lifestyle images, of course, but mainly of happy looking couples skipping along!

Glamour is today’s vehicle for communication and it appears that glamorous lifestyle images are effective in selling watches. Glamour satisfies the consumer’s need to feel unique and special - even a little bit envied by one’s peers.
After all, given the choice, who wouldn’t prefer to be in the pool with Gisèle Bündchen, jumping across rooftops like James Bond or signing a cheque for Harry Winston’s Ultime No. 2?


Source: Europa Star October-November 2007 Magazine Issue