5 best partnerships between watch brands and football clubs

The world of Haute Horlogerie has always looked at the main players in the football market with interest. The visibility that a champion or club can provide is often a winning strategy, and joining your name to events, leagues and champions is often a payoff. It is a rather young trend, but many watch brands are invading the world of football by finding winning commercial solutions and projects with which to share objectives and above all markets.

TAG Heuer x Manchester United

TAG Heuer and Manchester United are two institutions in their respective sectors: the first represents one of the main brands in luxury watchmaking, while the second has always meant history and success in the world of football. It was 2016 when the Swiss company and the Red Devils joined forces, sharing values and growth objectives. During this partnership, wonderful models were produced in the workshops of Chaux-de-Fonds, starting from the limited editions of the Carrera Heuer 01 up to Formula 1, both with details that recall the crest and colors of the English club. Jean-Claude Biver, CEO of TAG Heuer and President of the LVMH watch division, doubled his investments in the world of sports in 2015 and United was his only option: "Manchester United is the most prestigious football team in the world and Entering football at the highest level is, for me, very important. TAG Heuer does not sponsor but collaborates with the club."

IWC X Tottenham Hotspur

The International Watch Company, better known as IWC, is one of the youngest brands of the Richemont Group, the luxury holding that manages some of the most important brands of haute horlogerie and jewelery (Cartier, Van Cleef, Montblanc, Piaget, Officine Panerai, Roger Dubuis, Buccellati). Contacts with Spurs begin as soon as the London club formalizes the opening date of the new stadium. In 2018, IWC and Tottenham become partners, with the Swiss company holding the role of Timing Partner of the club coached by Jose Mourinho. Unlike the United collaboration, no dedicated line will be produced from the Schaffhausen laboratories, but at the new White Heart Lane the style of IWC blends perfectly with the elegant designs of the facility.

Hublot x Juventus, Chelsea, Ajax, Benfica, Boca Juniors

There is only one company that has opened the haute horlogerie trend in the world of sport. The first to believe in the football market was Hublot, which since 2006 has entered the unique mechanisms of a market very different from that of luxury. Since then, the brand has partnered with the most important football events in the world (Men's and Women's World Cup, UEFA Champions League, Nations League, Europa League, European Championships) and sponsors big clubs such as Juventus, Chelsea, Ajax, Boca Juniors and Benfica. The investment of the brand of the LVMH group does not stop at the clubs but extends to different personalities of football: Pelé, José Mourinho, Kylian Mbappé, Alex Morgan, David Trezeguet, Didier Deschamps.

TRIBUS x Liverpool

Definitely unique is the partnership that unites Liverpool to TRIBUS, a brand that is not yet on the same level as the three previously seen. The peculiarity lies in the fact that the company was born in Liverpool, a few kilometers from Anfield Road, from an idea of Jake, Jonathan and James Ward. All three have two great passions: watchmaking and the Reds. They both inherited them from dad Christopher, a KOP frequenter for more than 20 years. TRIBUS combines Liverpool styles and Swiss precision. The four models that make up the main collection of the brand have a "retro-temporary" design, but what concerns the Reds is above all the TRI-08 Premier League Champions Special Edition line (with a price between 1,095 and 1,426 euros) which has been launched on the occasion of the signing on a 5-year contact that yields not a few proceeds to the club also owned by LeBron James.

Richarde Mille x Paris Saint-Germain

Although out of reach compared to the others as it is an extinct partnership in 2019, the one between Richard Mille and Paris Saint-Germain is one of those partnerships that it is impossible to leave out of any kind of ranking. In 2016 the brand became the official supplier of the Parisian club and within a short time it produced two special limited edition models in the Les Breuleux workshops - which will only be available in the flagship stores in Paris and Doha. Richard Mille has always seen the world of sport as a gym, a sort of laboratory where to test the most extreme and eclectic creations. And even in this case, the Richard Mille RM 35-01 PSG and the Richard Mille RM 30 are proof of the aesthetics of the brand founded by Dominique Guenat and Richard Mille. Side note: the Richard Mille RM52-03 PSG Tourbillon seen on multiple occasions on the wrist of the Prince of Qatar, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Hamad, is not part of the collection. Only 10 copies have been created and the figure to ensure this rarity exceeds $ 1,200,000 USD.