DIALED IN Horological News
ATELIERS DEMONACO
ZENITH & SWISS BEATZ
JOIN FORCES
Zenith CEO Julien Tornare and producer
Swizz Beatz joined forces in November to
help launch the Zenith Defy El Primero 21
and the Defy Lab at a celebratory event in
New York. Zenith also unveiled the Defy
El Primero 21 Swizz Beatz Edition, and
guests were invited to participate in a raffle
for the watch. Proceeds from the raffle
will be donated to support the Gathering
for Justice, an organization founded in 2005 by Harry Belafonte, that aims to
build a movement to end child incarceration while working to eliminate the racial
inequities in the criminal justice system.
The special edition watch is being produced as two versions: the one-of-a-kind
Defy El Primero 21 Swizz Beatz Edition Unique, which was raffled off for the charity,
and the Defy El Primero 21 Swizz Beatz Edition, issued in a limited series of five.
Apart from a slight difference to the strap (white rubber with orange fabric on the
limited edition and white rubber with rubber-effect orange fabric on the Unique),
the timepieces are identical. Both strap and bezel are inscribed with “Never let
people tell you what you can’t do, because sky’s not the limit, it’s just the view. ”
At the event, attendees (including musician Alicia Keys) were invited to learn more
about watchmaking with Zenith watchmakers who assisted as they assembled and
dismantled Zenith movements. See www.zenith-watches.com
has linked its Tourbillon
Oculus 1297 Orage to the
Orage ‘supercar’ from Prato
Automobiles. The key to the car
has been placed in an electronic
chip on the watch’s strap. Both
watch and car are made of ultra-
light carbon fiber and are limited
to nineteen pieces. In addition,
the car chassis’ number is carved
on the watch dial.
WATCHBOX LAUNCHES
Danny Govberg, CEO of Govberg Jewelers, Liam Wee Tay, former owner of Sincere Watch, and investor-entrepreneur Justin Reis, have partnered to launch WatchBox
(www.thewatchbox.com), a global e-commerce platform for the buying, selling and trading of pre-owned luxury timepieces. CMIA Capital Partners, a Singapore-
headquartered private equity firm, led an initial investment round in WatchBox to accelerate growth across key global luxury watch markets, earmarking over $100
million of capital to be deployed over the next eighteen months to build out its multi-platform strategy.
24 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | WINTER 2018
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