The watch brand will host the event’s backstage greenroom

Rolex announced this morning that it has signed on as a sponsor for the 89th Academy Awards broadcast, which will air Feb. 26.

This is the second consecutive year the iconic watch brand has been a sponsor of the entertainment awards show.

“Rolex supports inspiring individuals and organizations who achieve great heights in both the sporting world and the arts, and the academy exemplifies this pursuit of defying the odds to reach unimaginable goals,” Arnaud Boetsch, Rolex’ director of communication and image, said in a prepared statement. “The Academy Awards and Rolex recognize and uphold excellence.”

As part of its sponsorship, the brand will host the backstage greenroom during the ceremony. The space was designed by the Rolex Interior Design teams in Geneva and “will feature a new design and concept,” according to the same statement.

Beyond the awards show, Rolex has a history of supporting the film industry. The brand’s philanthropic Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, which was set up in 2002, “seeks out gifted young artists from all over the world and brings them together with artistic masters for a year of creative collaboration in a one-to-one mentoring relationship,” said the statement.

Mentors for the initiative include Academy Award–winning directors Martin Scorsese, Alejandro González Iñárritu, and Alfonso Cuarón.

(Photo at top of Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master II watch courtesy of Rolex)

Emili Vesilind

JCK Senior Editor