The summer of 2012 will be remembered as a great summer of sport. Many sportsmen and women have competed in events such as Wimbledon and the Olympic Games of London 2012, as well as other events such as Formula One Grand Prix motor racing.
During these key sporting events, those taking part are sponsored by various organisations, including watchmakers, who want the sporting stars to wear and endorse their timepieces both when they are competing and in their leisure time when they will be photographed in newspapers and magazines. This is in addition to any official advertising they may do as ‘the face’ of these watch brands.
If all this talk of the summer of sport is making you want to experience some of it for yourself why not take a trip London and after enjoying what the games has to offer combine it with a little bit of watch shopping in one of the best shopping cities in the world.
OMEGA
Michael Phelps
One of the main ambassadors for the Omega brand is the American swimmer Michael Phelps, who during the course of the London 2012 Olympic Games, has become the most successful Olympian of the modern era, having won 19 Olympic gold medals so far.
Omega has long been associated with sport and sports’ timekeeping and is the official timekeeper for the Olympic Games in London 2012. In addition, there is a long history between Omega and swimming; part of the reason they have chosen Michael Phelps as one of their brand ambassadors.
The watches generally worn and promoted by Michael Phelps are from the new Omega Seamaster collection, which features a number of men’s watches with titanium casing and a variety of different straps, providing water resistance up to 2,000 feet. These watches have a self-winding movement and are intended to be hard wearing and long lasting.
Jessica Ennis
Continuing the brand’s association with the Olympic Games, Omega have also recruited Jessica Ennis as an ambassador. The Great Britain Heptathlete won a spectacular gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games. While she is not yet promoting any particular timepiece, there is no doubt that she will be important for the brand’s continuing association with athletics and the Olympic Games.
ROLEX
Zara Phillips
Rolex is a luxury watch brand that has long been associated with celebrities and sports stars. The brand has been associated with equestrianism since 1957 and has been the official timekeeper at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships since 1978. This explains their choice of Zara Phillips and Roger Federer as two of their sporting ambassadors.
Having won the Wimbledon Men’s Singles title for the seventh time in 2012, Roger Federer is the World’s Number One men’s tennis player and his other records, including reaching the final of each Grand Slam at least five times and appearing in 24 men’s Grand Slam finals, mean that he is widely considered to be the greatest tennis player of all time.
Zara Phillips is a granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II and is a member of the three day eventing team that won a silver medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games. In addition, she won the Eventing World Championship in 2006 and has competed for Great Britain in many equestrian events.
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is the face of Rolex’s Datejust collection, a watch that dates back to 1945 but which has been brought up to date with a modern look. The watch displays the date through an aperture on the dial and has a classic design. Zara Phillips is the face of the female version of this collection, the Lady-Datejust, which is available in a variety of precious metals and with or without diamond embellishment.
TAG Heuer
Maria Sharapova
TagHeuer have been making Swiss watches for men and women since 1860 and since the early 1900s have been making stopwatches and timepieces for sporting events. Some of their current brand ambassadors include tennis player Maria Sharapova as well as Grand Prix drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.
Maria Sharapova has been on the professional tennis circuit since 2004 and is currently ranked World Number Three in women’s tennis. In 2012, she won the French Open Championship.
The TagHeuer watch with which she is most associated is the Lady F1 ceramic, which is made of white ceramic with a polished steel bracelet. It can also include many diamonds and Maria Sharapova influenced the design of this particular watch.
Jenson Button
Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton are British Formula One Grand Prix drivers who both race for the McLaren team. Jenson Button won the Formula One driver’s title in 2009 with Brawn GP after Lewis Hamilton won it in 2008 with McLaren and today, they are both racing for the same team, battling it out to win the title again and secure the constructor’s title for their team.
The watch that they both wear is the Carrera Calibre 1887 Automatic Chronograph, which is a 21st century version of a watch from 1964. The watch has a 39 jewel movement and is made up of 320 components that keep it working accurately.
As timing is crucial for all sports stars, it is certainly appropriate that they should be the leading brand ambassadors for the world’s luxury watch makers whose aim is to encourage and inspire members of the public to emulate their sporting heroes.
