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Swatch launch the new 007 Villains collection of
watches in style at a press event in Bregenz, Austria,
with Richard Kiel and Mads Mikkelsen...
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Swatch Launch 007 Villains Watches
9th September 2008
To celebrate 25 years of plastic and the launch
of a provocative new line of ‘villainous’ Swatch
watches, Swatch founder Nicolas G. Hayek invited hundreds of
Swatch fans, special guests and journalists from around the world
to a spectacular multimedia party in Bregenz earlier this week.
Guests arriving at the 'Plastic Royale' by Swatch found
a huge “Once
Again” — perhaps the most famous of plastic Swatch
watches and still very popular today — mounted on the Bregenz
Festival’s Lake Constance stage.
Above (Left To Right): Richard
Kiel, Mads Mikkelsen and Nicolas Hayek
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At a press conference held the morning of the
8th of September, a major piece of news was announced to the
festive crowd in
Bregenz — the launch of the new Swatch 007 Villain Collection.
Each of the 22 Swatch watches in the new collection evokes one
or more of the memorable villains featured in the 22 James Bond
movies made since "Dr.
No" was released in 1962, and two special
guests were on hand to join the celebrations. Richard Kiel, who
played the metal-mouthed villain known as ‘Jaws’ in
"The Spy Who Loved Me"
and "Moonraker", accompanied
by his colleague in cinematic crime, Mads Mikkelsen, who played
the notorious gambler ‘Le
Chiffre’ in the recent
smash hit, "Casino Royale".
Above: A giant Swatch adorns
the opera stage in Bregenz
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Bringing the two components of the
'Plastic Royale' celebration together, Mr. Hayek (nickname: ‘Dr.
Swatch’) presented Swatch watch number 22 of the Swatch
007 Villain Collection, a bold, black and white Swatch Plastic
Chrono dedicated to the villainous‘Mr.
Greene’ featured
in "Quantum of Solace",
the 22nd James Bond film, due for release within weeks in cinemas
everywhere.
Mr. Hayek, who inspired the creation of the
world’s first plastic watch some 25 years ago, led journalists
from around the world through a retrospective ‘history
of plastic’, showing highlights from 25 years at the top
of the Swiss fashion watch industry. Mr. Hayek also presented
the first models in a new line of plastic Swatch watches, the
Swatch Plastic Chrono, a series of bold, colourful and attractively
priced sports watches for men and women.
Later in the day, the more than
500 guests of Swatch from more than 30 countries were given a
guided tour of a remarkable exhibition
of 250 Swatch watches, many of which are rarely seen outside
private collections. Together, these unique combinations of advanced
watchmaking technology, creative Swiss design and avant-garde
marketing tell the spectacular story of Swatch. Exhibits run
from the first plastic Swatch watches of 1983 to the new Swatch
Plastic Chrono collection.
Above: Swatch watches for 007
villains Odd Job (Goldfinger), Hugo Drax (Moonraker)
and Blofeld (On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
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Towards evening, guests on their way by ship
to the Gala Dinner were ‘attacked’ by a menacing
crew of Swatch Villains, who arrived from nowhere in two speedboats
and a helicopter! Star Swatch ProTeam Outlaw Géraldine
Fasnacht, who had joined the villainous crew, startled guests
with a breathtaking base jump from the chopper... World-famous
DJ Grandmaster Flash warmed up the crowd with a sensational performance
at the turntable. Australia’s electrifying
Midnight Jaggernauts and Finland’s notoriously entertaining
Leningrad Cowboys drove the crowd to the dance floor with a fantastic
selection of recent hits along with theme music and songs from
James Bond films.
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