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Mary Luk

Celebrities

Businessmen believe that bejewelled luxury watch brands must be associated with celebrities for them to likewise win fame and fortune.

This was the strategy adopted by some watchmakers at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie held in Geneva last month.

One example was IWC Schaffhausen, which invited retired French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane to be the VIP guest at its premiere short play Serata di Leonardo, featuring Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey. Leonardo da Vinci is IWC's main watch theme this year.

More than 1,400 IWC friends attended the star-studded evening. Oscar winner Cate Blanchett and actors Jean Reno and Matthew Modine  headed the cohort of actors on the red carpet, flanked by Hong Kong actor Chang Chen  and singer Ronan Keating. Former top tennis player Boris Becker also graced the glamour show with his presence.

The event attracted full page social coverage by the local paper Tribune De Geneve. Actress Michelle Yeoh was appointed ambassador for Audemars Piguet. Mont Blanc's representatives included soprano Katherine Jenkins, and model Naomi Campbell wore its jewellery.

The picture of Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts appeared in a Van Cleef & Arpels snowflakes bracelet promotion.

The booths of the 16 brands were exquisitely decorated. At Piaget, for example, three huge crystal lights were hung at the entrance where models took turns parading the brand's jewellery.

The Van Cleef & Arpels booth, designed by Patrick Jouin,  provided the perfect fairy tale setting for the brand's new poetical complications.

Montblanc invited world-renowned Swiss artist Lori Hersberger  to create a spacious mirror installation to transform its stand into an accessible work of art.

Guests and visitors to the fair, as well as the watches and jewels displayed on the stand, were reflected endlessly and became part of a magical staging in three dimensions.

The IWC booth was swathed in the ambience of the Renaissance to remind people of the legendary artist Leonardo da Vinci.

Vacheron Constantin invited guests and the press to tour Geneva's Barbier-Mueller Museum  to view relics - a main theme of its products this year. Souvenirs were generously given out and they ranged from Switzerland's famous fine chocolates, skin care products, shawls and leather products to scented candles, all elegantly packed and engraved with the watchmakers' logos.



Watchmakers' booths reflect lifestyles of rich and famous