Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer has enlisted South African painter Paul du Toit to create a unique box for its Monaco Mikrograph model to showcase the brand’s dedication to the arts and charity with an auction.
The watch and box will be auctioned to benefit research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy at the Only Watch auction in September. The items will be making pit-stops at numerous museum exhibitions before they are auctioned.
“This allows Tag to lend itself more to the design aspect of its merchandise,” said Rob Frankel, branding expert at branding consultancy Frankel and Anderson, Los Angeles.
“Charity is just another publicity ploy, adding impetus to the overall event, in order to garner more publicity from a wholly different media channel,” he said.
Mr. Frankel is not affiliated with Tag Heuer, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Tag Heuer did not respond by press deadline.
Elite packaging
The Monaco Mikrograph watch features chronograph power reserve, elapsed minutes and seconds, chronograph elapsed seconds and milliseconds.
The strap is made of Barenia black leather.
Mr. du Toit will be customizing the case, which is made of 43-millimeter stainless steel.
The watch and case will be on display in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York, Milan and Geneva before it is auctioned.
The Only Watch auction will take place on Sept. 22 in Monaco. The proceeds will benefit Duchenne muscular dystrophy research.
Mr. du Toit has done charitable art in the past, but is most known for a sculpture of Nelson Mandela’s hands that sold for $3.5 million at an auction in London.
The partnership is being pushed across Tag Heuer’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube sites.
For example, a recent tweet said "The Monaco Mikrograph, the fastest chronograph movement on the market, will be auctioned by Only Watch on... http://fb.me/15KB20YGd"
The Tag Heuer Facebook channel will feature a series of videos about the artist’s journey in creating the box.
In the first video, Mr. du Toit explains that time has always been a constant factor – he never seems to have enough. This became more apparent when the artist was diagnosed with cancer.
The second and third videos show the artist receiving the Monaco box and how the artist produces his art through nature.
Tag Heuer is linking to these videos from its Facebook and Twitter pages.
Linking with luxury
The collaboration takes two luxury symbols, art and charity, and associates them in consumers’ minds with Tag Heuer.
This partnership will likely bring Mr. du Toit a level of awareness he has never reached before, particularly in the luxury world.
“This cross-collaboration is extremely beneficial for both the artist as well as Tag Heuer, because it spotlights the creativity of the artist as well as displaying that Tag Heuer is current with today's culture,” said Dalia Strum, founder of Dalia Inc., New York.
Tag Heuer is creating another level of exclusivity around the watch by tapping an artist to customize the packaging.
“As consumers, we have the tendency to judge a book by its cover, especially when it comes to luxury items,” Ms. Strum said.
“Therefore, by creating this limited edition box design, the entire package becomes more elite,” she said.
By donating the proceeds of this effort to a charity, the brand is further emulating its luxury status.
“Like art, philanthropy and luxury are sisters,” said Chris Ramey, president of Affluent Insights, Miami.
“Fear, greed and good drive sales -- you just never know in which order,” he said.
Final take
Kayla Hutzler, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York