David Hartnell: Style Consultant for Citizen Watch Company

I’m delighted to report that I’ve just been appointed Style Consultant to the world-wide Citizen Watch Company. Back in 1924, Citizen’s forerunner, the Shokosha Watch Research Institute produced its first pocket watch the ‘CITIZEN.’ The Mayor of Tokyo, Mr Shimpei Goto, named the watch ‘CITIZEN’ with the hope that the watch, a luxury item of those times, would be come widely available to ordinary citizens and be sold throughout the world. I’ve been a watch collector for many years and now to be involved in their design is a dream come true.
Today the shape and style of the wristwatch has become our alter ego, the face that we choose to present to the world. It’s become the status symbol to make us feel better. While our human face becomes wrinkled, our watch face, our “other face” -- which unerringly measures time -- remains constant, unchanged by the passage of time that it measures. I believe we pick a watch that is to some degree a reflection of ourselves for example diamonds and gold equals success. But in the end, I believe the decision about a particular watch is usually based on “your own style and your aspirations of success”. Time can have image and style and watches reflect your personality. This summer 2007/8 sees no more clunky dive watches with business suits: choose gold, diamonds or both for to-days successful fashionable look for both men and women. Over the years wrist watches have played a huge part in the lives of celebrities, here are a few memorable celebrity watch moments.

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A gold watch given by Hollywood actress Elizabeth Taylor to the late screen legend Richard Burton during the filming of Cleopatra in 1963, that wristwatch recently sold at auction in London. A businessman born in south Wales where Richard was born recently paid £10,000 for it at Christie's because he wanted to "bring it back to Wales".

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Walt Disney introduced us to Mickey Mouse in 1927. In 1933 the very first Mickey Mouse watch was produced, today those watches command around $1,500 (US).


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If you want some serious wristwatch bling, the late Liberace was your man. This solid gold and platinum watch was custom-made especially for him in the shape of a grand piano, and encrusted with 247 diamonds and blue sapphires. The watch was presented to Liberace by Seymour Heller his personal manager, to commemorate 25 years in show business. Today the watch is on show at the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas, along with his many costumes and piano’s. The Museum is a must see when you in Las Vegas – believe me don’t miss it or you’ll be missing the bling event of your life.

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When Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra split he tore up his favourite picture of her in a fury and then tried to glue it back together again. But a piece was missing. A delivery boy found it and Sinatra gave him a solid gold watch as a thank you. Frank and Ava were married from 1951 to 1957, on their wedding day he gave her a solid silver wrist watch as a wedding present which she wore till the day she died in 1990. Infact, some say that she was buried wearing the watch.

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In the early 70’s comic Jerry Lewis had watches made with his charicature face on dial. He gave these as gifts to all the people that worked with him on his Las Vegas Muscular Dystrophy TV Telethon. I believe that to day these are collectors items.

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I’m told the first movie to feature a wristwatch was in the 1962 James Bond movie “Dr. No” starring Sean Connery. Then a year later in “From Russia With Love” and again the following year in “Goldfinger.” Honor Blackman who played Pussy Galore also wore a wrist watch which was displayed prominently while flying the Goldfinger jet.

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