Raymond Weil Sues Charlize Theron for Wearing Another Watch Brand

By JCK Online Staff

Posted on February 6, 2007

Swiss luxury watchmaker Raymond Weil has sued Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron Monday, Feb. 5, in the New York Supreme Court for allegedly wearing another brand. 

Theron was promoted as the “new face” of Raymond Weil’s global watch marketing between October 2005 and December 2006 in an exclusive endorsement deal that required she wear only Raymond Weil watches for its duration, said the legal action.

However, the Geneva-based watchmaker’s breach of contract suit contends that Theron—who also had an endorsement deal with Dior perfume—was photographed wearing a Christian Dior watch at a March 2006 news conference at an Austin, Tex., film festival.

The suit doesn’t specify monetary damages.

According to published accounts, Raymond Weil spent some $20 million on the Theron global campaign, which was announced with some fanfare by Olivier Bernheim, Raymond Weil SA company president and chief executive officer, at the 2005 international BaselWorld watch fair in Switzerland. At that time, he called her “the new face” of Raymond Weil watches and the “the perfect ambassador for our timepieces, representing beauty, style, and perfection of function.”

Theron won the 2004 Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Monster (2003).