Wednesday, February 10, 2010, 04.33 AM
2009/11/16
CHEONG PHIN
Actress Zhang ZiYi carries on Swiss luxury watchmaker Omega’s tradition of employing distinguished personalities to communicate its key values, writes CHEONG PHIN.| Looking resplendent in an Armani Prive gown with a matching Constellation timepiece at the Cannes Film Festival 2009 recently. |
According to Omega president Stephen Urquhart, the “Cindy” effect has resulted in a sharp increase in sales of their women’s watches and at the same time, established Constellation as the leading collection of Omega, accounting for almost half of total sales.
“Thinking in terms of men’s and women’s watches is anachronistic. In the 14 years she has been with us, the popularity of our Constellations has found wide acceptance among men and women,” said Urquhart when asked why a female personality (Cindy, in this case) was chosen as the foremost brand ambassador for Constellation at an exclusive interview with Life & Times.
The Omega Constellation watch, with its trademark “Griffes” or claws connecting the case and bezel of the watch, was re-introduced 28 years ago and has since evolved into a dynamic and upgraded new 2009 Constellation Collection to reflect its relevance to contemporary fashion and most importantly, Omega’s in-house manufacture movement — the revolutionary Co-Axial technology.
For example, the famous claws are now featured on bigger sizes and a stronger case body with a sporty white rubber strap as well as the new “Mono-Rang” bracelet featuring the re-engineered butterfly clasp for maximum comfort.
Moving ahead with the burgeoning business in Asia and launching a new era of Constellations, Omega proudly signed on international Chinese actress Zhang ZiYi as its latest brand ambassador of the Constellation watch range.
The talented young actress, famous for films like A Road Home, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Memoirs of a Geisha, was in Singapore recently to officially launch the 2009 Omega Constellation Collection at Omega’s first corporate flagship store in the island at ION Orchard with Urquhart.
“Essentially, ambassadors bring a human face to the brand. Working with people like Cindy, George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Zhang ZiYi and Buzz Aldrin, for instance, is a very good way to communicate the emotion of the brand,” explained the president of Omega.
“We choose ambassadors who share, and effectively communicate Omega’s key values which are credibility, honesty, substance and a pioneering spirit.
“While they come from diverse professional backgrounds, our ambassadors all have a record of extraordinary personal achievement. They also tend to have distinguished themselves not only in their careers but also in their social engagements,” he added.
“The Asian market is the most buoyant today and China is obviously very important to us. Zhang ZiYi has earned her outstanding reputation as a world- class actress who is extremely famous and popular in China and Asia.
| (From left) Urquhart, Zhang ZiYi and Swatch Group SEA country manager David Ponzo officially launch the latest Omega corporate flagship store in Singapore. |
“She fully embodies the Omega’s philosophy with her beauty, consistency, talent and quality, and we are certain that she will epitomise and continue to promote the worldwide success of the new Constellation Collection.”
At 30, the graceful and self-assured actress dressed in an eye-catching magenta dress by Marc Jacobs has every reason to feel confident in her official duty as Omega’s global brand ambassador.
She has an impressive resumé of Asian and Hollywood movies, and truly represents modern China. Her public manners are girlishly gentle as she warmly smiles, poses and waves to her fans that afternoon.
After the customary ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the new boutique, Urquhart presented Zhang ZiYi with a new Constellation watch and invited her to autograph the watch box before locking it up in a transparent safe.
The key was then placed into a red pouch by the actress and tossed into a box of other keys in similar pouches which were handed to VIP guests at the evening’s ball for a chance to be the proud owner of the coveted watch.
Designed by renowned Japanese architect, Kazuo Adachi, the 93-square metre corporate flagship store at ION is the brand’s 53rd worldwide and conveys the essence of the brand with its inspirational elements of sun, water, earth and most significantly, time.
Studded with Omega logos, the mirrored walls of the main showroom area are bathed in light, natural earth tones to exude a spacious outlook whilst the lounge area is warm and inviting with richer hues of red and dark mahogany.
In conjunction with the official opening of the new boutique and 2009 Constellation Collection launch, an exhibition to showcase the evolution of the Omega Constellation Collection over the last 60 years was also held at the atrium of the stunning mall.
For the first time, a sterling display of its much sought-after historical pieces was on display alongside the 2009 collection to highlight the rich heritage of this timeless classic.
An elegant “Stars of the Constellation Ball” was held later in the evening at St. Regis for the brand’s VIP guests and local Omega ambassadors to wine and dine with the biggest star of the night — global brand ambassador Zhang ZiYi.
A moment with Zhang ZiYi
OUR first encounter with the Chinese actress was greeted with a polite excuse to use the bathroom after a long afternoon of interviews with various media.
With her petite frame and love of fashion and diamonds (she wears an astonishingly big engagement ring), Zhang changed into a stylish Marc Jacobs ensemble of grey knit top and flare skirt embellished with zips for a brief 10 minutes with Life & Times.
Q: How does it feel to be part of the distinguished Omega family of brand ambassadors?
A: The values of Omega — credibility, achievement and pioneering spirit — are what I have devoted myself to for the past 10 years.
When I was first approached by Omega I was very happy because the company is extremely well known and respected in China, where they have been since 1895. By sheer coincidence, when I was in my teens, Omega was the first luxury watch I bought with all my savings.
It was the only famous watch brand I knew at that time and the watch remains very precious to me till today. It’s safely kept in a safe deposit box for now before I decide on a good purpose for it in the future.
Q: Why choose a watch as your first luxury item to buy?
A: When I was admitted to the prestigious Beijing Dance Academy at age 11, my father bought me a watch with the little amount of money he had.
It was a very meaningful gesture of his fatherly love and I wanted to honour my parents’ support for me when I could afford to buy my first luxury item by choosing a watch.
And strangely, it was an Omega.
Q: How important is timekeeping to you?
A: Time is of essence because when times are good, it passes by very quickly. On the other hand, when times are bad, it passes by very slowly and painfully. In the end, time is short and I am glad I did not waste any of my precious time in life with the way my career is heading.
Timekeeping also allows me to wear my big collection of Omega watches.
Q: What’s your favourite Omega Constellation model?
A: I have been wearing the Omega Constellation for 10 years now. For now, my favourite model is the new Constellation Double Eagle Ladies with the white rubber strap and diamonds, of course.
Q: What do you look for when choosing a watch?
A: A good discount (with lots of laughter in the room). The obvious things such as performance and design as well as lasting values and consistency of the brand.
| Zhang ZiYi with the autographed Constellation watch for the lucky draw. |
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