Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Chrono Ferrari Celebrates Automaker's 20 Years In China#
A roundup of news coming out of China this week, from Hublot's special-edition watch celebrating Ferrari to next month's Beijing Education Concert and the grand opening of the Guangzhou Auto Show.
Hublot Creates Special-Edition Big Bang Tourbillon Chrono For Ferrari#
Hublot for Ferrari
Among the global luxury brands that have made the most effort to court Chinese buyers with limited-edition models have come together, with Swiss watchmaker Hublot's special-edition Big Bang Tourbillon Chrono, created to celebrate Ferrari's 20th anniversary in China. Long-time Jing Daily readers will remember Ferrari's first stab at China-only editions from 2009, the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorino China and one-off "Song Dynasty porcelain" 599 GTB by artist Lu Hao, and as for Hublot, in an attempt to stand out in the crowded China watch market, the watchmaker has localized by signing Chinese celebrities like Han Han and Jet Li as its first-ever Asian brand ambassadors.
It’s been 20 years since Ferrari first entered China, and to celebrate the occasion, master horologist Hublot and Ferrari have teamed up to introduce, the Big Bang Tourbillon Chrono Ferrari edition timepiece. As the occasion symbolizes, the watch will have only 20 editions ever made for lucky collectors to lay their hands on. From what the insiders say, this could very well be an indication to many such masterpieces in the coming year, since these 2 brands have recently joined hands on a worldwide scale.
Like the classic mechanical watches, this one too has a 44mm dial which is now becoming a bit of a trend in the segment. The sporty structure of the chassis is built out of carbon fiber, and the exposed partial skeleton both on the rear and front end. These ends are covered by a sapphire crystal, which has been given a rose tint for the unique effect. On the dial, there are 3-subdials to complement the main dial which displays the hours and minutes. The upper right-hand dial contains a ‘Ferrari red’ hand which displays the minutes on a 5 minute interval. The main hours and minutes are displayed by uniquely shaped white hands. However, the power reserve of 120 hours has the smallest area in this setup, shown at the 9 ‘o’ clock position.
Pricing is, as yet, undisclosed, but considering only 20 will be made available, we can expect it won't come cheap.
(Previously: Jing Daily's exclusive interview with Hublot CEO, Jean-Claude Biver -- part one / part two)
Black Eyed Peas Singer will.i.am, John Legend To Headline Beijing Education Concert#
will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas
The Hollywood Reporter writes today that Black Eyed Peas singer will.i.am and bandmate apl.de.ap, along with John Legend and the Bucky Johnson band, will headline a December 17 concert in Beijing concert meant to encourage study abroad programs in China. Officially announced yesterday in Los Angeles, the concert, which supports the U.S. State Department's initiative to send 100,000 American students to study in China, will be jointly organized by the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation Beijing and the group Americans Promoting Study Abroad. The concert is also supported by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. From the Hollywood Reporter:
Monday's announcement mentioned the participation of "other prominent Chinese and U.S. artists," but only named the Peas' members, Legend and Bucky Johnson. No venue was specified, although one of Beijing's former Olympic venues could play host. Tickets were not on sale in Beijing as of Tuesday afternoon local time. The Black Eyed Peas have performed as a unit twice previously in the Chinese capital city.
Despite Monday's announcement, the Hollywood Reporter points out that charity concerts have a rocky history in Beijing when not organized directly by the Chinese government, mentioning scrapped gigs like the "Show of Peace" concert with Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Aerosmith's Joe Perry, the abortive Oasis concert of March 2009, and a cancelled Linkin Park show in 2008. However, the involvement of Jackie Chan, who regularly appears at government-organized extravaganzas and is notoriously cozy with Beijing higher-ups, should smooth the way for next month's concert.
In Photos: Gwyneth Paltrow, Fan Bingbing Attend Coach's 70th Anniversary Bash In Beijing#
Over on
Jing Daily's Facebook page#
, we've posted a gallery of photos from Coach's 70th anniversary event at Beijing's Iberia Center for Contemporary Art last weekend. Attended by celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, who spoke to reporters and performed songs onstage, as well as local faces like actress Fan Bingbing (范冰冰) and jewelry designer and socialite Wan Baobao (万宝宝), the blowout nature of the event reflected Coach's intensified focus on China, which execs say will become the American brand's top market by 2014.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Fan Bingbing in Beijing (Image: Fashion Trend Digest)
Guangzhou Auto Show Launches With Plenty Of Debuts#
The Rolls-Royce Phantom China Dragon at the Guangzhou Auto Show
This week, the much-anticipated Guangzhou Auto Show launched in the southern Chinese metropolis, and major brands have yet to disappoint. Marquee launches like Ferrari's new 8-cylinder 458 Spider, the Rolls-Royce Phantom China Dragon (previously on Jing Daily), and the 2013 Lexus GS 250 offered plenty of eye-candy for Chinese gearheads, sharing space with crowd-pleasers like Chevrolet's "Transformers Edition" Camaro. In all, the show includes more than 900 vehicles, 30 of which are making their global debut and 13 their Asia debut.
As EastDay notes, automakers (particularly in the luxury segment) are putting ever more effort into beefing up their presence at top Chinese auto shows as the market tightens:
[In Guangzhou,] luxury car brands, including Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, [are displaying] their latest expensive and stunning models to lure the country's growing population of wealthy despite the overall market losing some steam after two straight years of rapid growth.
Extra: the Wall Street Journal has posted a comprehensive slideshow of vehicles on show at the Guangzhou Auto Show.