Breitling marks expansion into Chinese market with gala celebration
The brand also previewed two special pilot’s watches that will be launched next year
Breitling, the Swiss watch brand, hosted a celebration of its entry into the Chinese market with a red carpet gala night at Beijing’s Phoenix Center on November 20, 2018.
International movie stars and Breitling Cinema Squad members Brad Pitt and Daniel Wu were on hand to mark the occasion, along with surfer Sally Fitzgibbons and photographer and filmmaker Peter Lindbergh.
They were joined by personalities from the worlds of fashion, high society, sport, music, and film, including Japanese fashion designer Motofumi “Poggy” Kogi, South Korean actress Shin Se-Kyung, Chinese actress Qi Wei, and Chinese actor Li Zonghan.
Inside the Phoenix Center, the stunning decor recalled Breitling’s brand worlds of air, sea, and land .
Breitling also took the opportunity to introduce the watches in the new Premier family. The new Premier family reintroduces the brand’s link to the land environment. One of the standout pieces in the family is the Premier B01 Chronograph 42 Bentley British Racing Green, a chronograph that honors Breitling’s partnership with the great British automobile brand.
The brand also previewed two special pilot’s watches that will be launched next year, commemorating the history of the legendary Curtiss P-40 Warhawk plane. On hand to help celebrate were pilots from two different generations, Taylor Stevenson and 93-year-old Ollie Crawford, the oldest living pilot to have ever flown a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk plane.
Breitling CEO Georges Kern said: “Tonight marks the beginning of a new chapter for Breitling in China, and we are incredibly excited. We are thrilled to give you a look into what we call our legendary future, focusing not only on air but also on sea and land, together with our Breitling Squads, which include some of our most important partners, ambassadors, and friends.
“Breitling opened its first Asian flagship boutique in Beijing only a few months earlier and we are strengthening our online and digital presence in Asia through our strategic partnership with Alibaba with the grand opening of the Breitling Tmall flagship store.”
