Watch brand taps classic movies

At a time when luxury brands are reaching out to the young and fashionable, some are focusing on classic motion pictures.

As a major sponsor of the Shanghai International Film Festival, the Swiss luxury watch brand Jaeger-LeCoultre has been working with the Shanghai International Film Festival since 2011.

It has been funding a restoration project of classic Chinese movies, working with L'Immagine Ritrovata, a film restoration laboratory in Italy that uses both traditional and modern 4K technology to restore old films.

So far it has restored more than 10 classic Chinese films, including The River Flows to the East, Eight Thousand Li of Cloud and Moon, Crossroads, Stage Sisters and A Better Tomorrow.

This time, it showcased Outside the Window, a classic romance from 1973 starring Brigitte Lin. And, next it is going to restore A Soul Haunted by Painting, a 1994 movie that features Gong Li as the heroine and marks the big screen debut of Zhao Wei, the brand ambassador of Jaeger-LeCoultre.

The brand also contributed a one-piece-only model of the Rendez-Vous Moon watch, which was auctioned for the funding of the film restoration project.

Like many luxury brands that started to work with millennial celebrities in a bid to reach out to the younger generation, Jaeger-LeCoultre chose young Chinese actor Jing Boran as "friend of the brand" last year.

"His image, understanding of things and outstanding taste coincide with Jaeger-LeCoultre. At the same time, his youthful, vibrant and elegant figure brings us more attention from younger consumers," says Guillain Maspetiol, managing director of Jaeger-LeCoultre North Asia.

"We hope to keep in touch with Chinese customers and cultivate their affection for our brand."

The Chinese are the most important clients of Jaeger-LeCoultre, Maspetiol says.

The brand now has more than 10 boutiques in major cities in China. It opened boutiques in Tianjin and Dalian this year.

With a large part of Chinese consumers coming from the younger generations, it is crucial to communicate with the millennials, says Maspetiol.

"Some watchmaking brands joined digital business platforms in China like T-mall and JD. And Jaeger-LeCoultre opened an online sales platform at the end of last year in order to keep in touch with consumers and provide a more convenient purchasing method. I think it is better to combine online platforms with offline boutiques to provide consumers a better experience," he says.

sunyuanqing@chinadaily.com.cn

Swiss luxury watch brand Jaeger-LeCoultre has restored more than 10 old Chinese films, including the 1973 classic, Outside the Window.Photos Provided To China Daily