Academy Museum of Motion Pictures - and Girard Perregaux

Courtesy of Girard - Perregaux

GIRARD-PERREGAUX GIVES LIFE TO A UNIQUE COLLECTION OF IMAGES

THAT CELEBRATES ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ACADEMY MUSEUM OF MOTION PICTURES

Girard-Perregaux and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

This just in from Girard-Perregaux -

Girard-Perregaux, the iconic luxury Swiss watch brand, is proud to announce it will be the Exclusive Timekeeper and a Founding Supporter of the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, scheduled to open in 2016 in Los Angeles. It will be the first U.S. not-for-profit museum dedicated exclusively to the history and ongoing development of motion pictures and will be designed by award-winning architects Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali.

Courtesy of Girard-Perregaux

To celebrate and promote this unique partnership, Girard-Perregaux will use iconic images from the Academy’s photography collection in GP advertisements and will launch a series of special initiatives. “We are honored to be working alongside the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on this extraordinary venture”, says Michele Sofisti, CEO of the Sowind Group (Girard-Perregaux and JEANRICHARD). “We understand the importance of preserving the heritage and history of film making which, like watchmaking, requires an immense amount of love, work and dedication".
"We are thrilled to be partnering with Girard-Perregaux on the creation of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures”, notes Bill Kramer, Managing Director of Development for the Academy Museum. "Girard-Perregaux’s commitment to artistic excellence and technological advancement is a perfect fit for the Academy Museum. We look forward to working with them to realize this long-held dream of the Academy and the moviemaking industry."

Tempus Fugit Field Trip

So a few weeks ago I had a meeting in Beverly Hills.  So I hopped in the buggy and made the trip down from Santa Barbara.  With time on my hands, I popped in to some of the various shops and was a bit surprised - in some instances pleasantly, and others not so much.

One store and person who gets full marks is Philippe Marquet of Richard Mille!  Friendly, knowledgeable and a genuinely nice fellow.

Interestingly enough, popping into a few of the other shops on Rodeo Drive my experience was very, very different.  Not so friendly, and in fact, one "brand boutique" who I had just written a story about that very morning couldn't have been less polite.  Now consider this for a moment, these are people employed with the intention of selling watches - i.e. retail, and one would think that part of this would entail, I don't know, being friendly?!

And finally, Breguet - so get ready to throw away all of your pre-conceived notions that this must be an intimidating, bastion of exclusivity.  Well, yes and no.  It is a beautiful, well presented boutique.  It has a beautiful collection of watches.  But the people - COULD NOT HAVE BEEN BETTER!  Mr. Acosta and Ms. Moore were incredibly friendly.  I had intended to simply stick my head in the door, say hi, and be on my way.  But Perrier was offered, and a great conversation about the watch business and the new Chronometers buyer's guide - www.chronometers.org ensued.

So it was an informative day - Richard Mille and Breguet - you have got it RIGHT!