Friends Of Brands — The Coming Together of Your Favourite Celebrities and Watch Brands

Celebrity endorsements and associations have been one of the strongest marketing tools at any brand’s disposal. Brands capitalise on a celebrity’s fame and popularity to achieve instant and wide-reaching engagement. Some of these associations go on to gain legendary status, like the iconic Nike partnership with Michael Jordan and the contemporary Harry Styles for Gucci.

While global luxury brands naming Indian celebrities as their brand ambassadors is not a novel phenomenon, it is one that has shown much potential and value in recent times. The burgeoning popularity of Indian celebrities, from sportspeople to movie stars, is perhaps an important reason why they are fast becoming a select choice for global brands. Another crucial ground could be India’s mushrooming appetite for luxury goods. Today, India is a significant and rapidly-growing market for luxury products. Therefore, associations with Indian personalities promise a much more authentic appeal, allowing the brands to enter or grow in the country faster.

Here are some of our favourite Indian celebrities that have been chosen by global luxury watch houses to add their unique charm to the brand’s personality while also elevating their popularity.

Deepika Padukone For Chopard

The renowned luxury watch brand Chopard announced Deepika Padukone as its brand ambassador in 2021. The actress collaborated with the atelier as one of the ‘Seven Happy Women’ to promote the Happy Diamonds watch and jewellery collection. Chopard’s Happy Sport is an iconic timepiece that epitomises a call to joy and freedom. Padukone’s free-spirited attitude and radiant smile echo the collection’s cheerful character. The watch features freely moving, dancing diamonds on the dial that evoke feelings of happiness.

In 2021, Deepika Padukone was chosen among the Seven Happy Women to become the face of Chopard's Happy Diamonds collection

Siddhant Chaturvedi For Ulysse Nardin 

Bollywood actor Siddhant Chaturvedi joined hands with Swiss watch manufacturer Ulysse Nardin in 2022 to promote their luxurious timepieces in India. The Gully Boy actor’s energetic and go-getter attitude resonates with the maison’s innovative and functional timepieces. His favourite Ulysse Nardin watch is the Freak X because of its unique time display. He expressed his exhilaration about the partnership with the brand as its Indian ambassador in an interview with the Luxebox, stating, “I’m delighted to join the Ulysse Nardin family. I’m spellbound by the work they do in-house, from conception and design to development and production. They’ve truly set a global benchmark, and they constantly reach for the sky, which is a personal representation for everything I believe in and hope to achieve.”

In 2022, Ulysse Nardin joined hands with Bollywood actor Siddhant Chaturvedi to represent the brand in India

Ranveer Singh For Franck Muller

Ranveer Singh became the Indian brand ambassador of Geneva-based watch company Franck Muller in 2019, and since then, he has often been seen sporting Franck Muller timepieces on his wrist. Singh revealed that his connection with the brand started at a young age when his mother wanted to own a Franck Muller watch.

The actor is an aficionado of the atelier’s intricate and luxurious timepieces. He owns one of the rarest watches by the brand, the Franck Muller Vanguard Yachting Watch Number 64716, which is studded with diamonds on the bezel and hour markers. Recently, Franck Muller also launched a limited edition watch inspired by India.

Hrithik Roshan For Rado

Hrithik Roshan has represented the Swiss watchmaker Rado for over a decade now. His personality truly resonates with the brand's attitude of practicality and effortless charm

Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan has been a global brand ambassador for the Swiss watch manufacturer Rado for over a decade. He also visited the Rado HQ in 2019 to meet CEO Matthias Breschan and try out the watches from the house’s latest collection. His personal Rado collection includes the vintage Rado Captain Cook, Rado HyperChrome, and the classic Rado True, among many others.

To commemorate the long-standing relationship with the actor, Rado launched a Captain Cook Hrithik Roshan special edition in 2021. It is a present-day interpretation of the classic 1962 timepiece. This luxury timepiece is made especially for modern explorers with an amalgamation of practical materials such as sapphire crystal and high-tech ceramic.

Rado honoured its long-standing brand ambassador, Hrithik Roshan, with a special edition of its most iconic timepiece – Captain Cook

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Sonam Kapoor Ahuja For IWC

Bollywood diva Sonam Kapoor has been a member of luxury watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen’s brand ambassador family since 2017. She has represented several sought-after collections from the watchmaking maison, such as the Da Vinci, the Pilot, etc. She has also made many appearances at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie to promote the brand.

Kapoor read chapters from the world-famous book ‘The Little Prince’ by author Antoine de Saint-Exupery as a part of IWC’s Time Well-Shared initiative. It aimed to offer eloquent ways to spend time during the lockdown. Sonam was also featured in an episode of the #IWCTalksTo series moderated by journalist Mariella Frostrup. 

Sonam Kapoor has been a member of luxury watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen’s brand ambassador family since 2017 and has represented several of the brand's sought-after collections

MS Dhoni For Panerai

Italian luxury watchmaker Officine Panerai announced former Indian cricket skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni as their Indian brand ambassador in 2018. As a celebration of the brand’s collaboration with the cricketer, the watchmaking house launched special Dhoni editions for two of their timepieces, Luminor Chrono Flyback and Luminor GMT. The special edition watches were made available only in the Indian subcontinent as a remarkable milestone for the atelier in the country.

The brand has implemented many significant aspects of Captain Cool’s life into these watches. The Luminor Chrono Flyback collection has a total of 77 models that shares a reference with the skipper’s birthday on July 7. The steel edition of the Flyback is limited to 251 pieces, which shares a reference with Dhoni being the 251st cricketer to play test matches for the Indian team.

Both Luminor Chrono Flyback and Luminor GMT Dhoni editions have green-coloured dials, as green is Dhoni’s favourite colour and one of the colours in the Indian National Flag. Another common feature shared by both models is the caseback with Dhoni’s engraved signature, the number 183 that signifies his best score in ODI cricket against Sri Lanka, his cricketing image, and an outline of the Indian peninsula.

Panerai launched special Dhoni editions for two of their timepieces, Luminor Chrono Flyback and Luminor GMT, as a celebration of the brand's collaboration with the cricketer. These watches carry several significant elements that honour Dhoni's life

Vikrant Massey For Longines

Longines introduced Vikrant Massey as its ambassador in 2022. Subsequently, he also unveiled the limited edition HydroConquest XXII Commonwealth Games watch, launched the same year in Delhi. It’s a 41mm watch with a solid caseback engraved with the Birmingham 2022 logo. The edition is limited to 2,002 watches. When asked to pick his three favourite watches from the brand during an interview, Massey picked the new HydroConquest XXII Commonwealth Games, Spirit Zulu, and the Master Collection timepieces.

Vikrant Massey became the brand ambassador for Longines in 2022