Time for a new generation
In Paris, luxury watch label Omega embraces the future by signing Cindy Crawford’s children as its new envoys, writes Syida Lizta Amirul Ihsan
THE modern wristwatch may have a masculine stature but it was women who pioneered it. First made for queens and female aristocrats in the 19th century, wristwatches (or rather lavish wrist accessories) were trendy among the women of the palace.
These ladies of leisure, of course, didn’t need accurate timekeeping so the watch face was usually hidden under ornaments decorated with stones.
The gentlemen, meanwhile, still preferred their pocket watches and even until the early 20th century, when the military made the wristwatch famous for its utilitarianism — it’s easier to glance at your wrist than to flick open your pocket watch — wristwatches for men were still considered a passing fad.
So it was apt that luxury watch brand Omega curated a retrospective exhibition to chronicle the styles of women’s watches in the last century.
A travelling exhibition, it started in Milan in 2015 (where it was extended) before displaying in Moscow, Shanghai and Sydney.
Its latest location is in Paris’s Hotel de Sully in the Marais area, where the exhibition will go on until Oct 17.
The launch, held on Sept 29 on a rainy Parisian evening, saw the courtyard of the historic building transformed into a garden of creepers and flowers.
In attendance was Omega’s long-time ambassador Cindy Crawford, her husband Rande Gerber and their children Presley and Kaia, who were recently announced as the brand’s latest ambassadors, continuing their mother’s legacy.
SELLING TO A NEW GENERATION
For Omega president and chief executive officer Raynald Aeschlimann, the Her Time exhibition is close to his heart as it tells the story of the evolution of beauty and aesthetics of Omega’s women’s watches, integrated into great locations.
“I chose Paris and I chose Hotel de Sully, specifically, a historical monument that isn’t as touristy as the Eiffel Tower. Understated and classy, this would be a great place to narrate our history,” he told journalists hours before the exhibition commenced.
He went jogging that morning, in his running tee and Asics trainers, from his hotel in rue St. Honore all the way to the Trocadero area where the Eiffel Tower is located.
“It occurred to me that not many cities in the world are as historic and as beautiful to run in as Paris. Paris is special, that’s why the exhibition is here,” he said.
Since heading Omega in 2016, Aeschlimann understands that selling luxury is selling emotion.
“Luxury is when emotion takes over reason. It’s a multi-faceted business. It’s about elegance, technology and beauty. The difference among brands is the difference in emotions. That’s why you choose one brand over the other.”
Aeschlimann is in a different place than his predecessors. He’s faced with selling wristwatches to the Gen-Y, who primarily look at their phones to tell time. But he’s confident this can work. “They are keen on stories — real stories — and that’s where