Big time is on their side
MANILA, Philippines – Pardon my French, but watches (and pieces of jewelry) are — according to my photographer friends — a bitch to shoot. For one, glare gets in the way. And how does one go about styling a watch? You can surely snap a photo with your trusty smartphone, but the “soul” of a beautiful, well-made chronograph sort of gets lost in the process. No matter how much you filter the hell out of that thing on Instagram.
Interestingly, as Dutch watchmaker TW Steel marks its 10th anniversary as a brand and its sixth year in the Philippines, TW Steel decided to hold a photography contest featuring its watches. An exhibition of the winning entries was mounted recently at the Shangri-La Mall, with TW Steel co-founder and CEO Jordy Cobelens flying in from Amsterdam to crown the winners. And some of the pictures are thought provoking.
The “Big Time” photography competition was held from July to September this year and was spearheaded by photographer and portraitist Ibarra Deri. Professional and amateur enthusiasts were asked to take product and lifestyle shots of their favorite TW Steel watches. Hundreds of entries were submitted, and the top 20 were chosen by some of the country’s noted photographers: Wig Tysmans, Bien Bautista, Jun Miranda, Menchit Ongpin, Mark Floro and Jack Alindahao.
Aissa Pery won in the Lifestyle Shot category while Paul Andrew Vito won the Product Shot prize. Each winner received P50,000 in cash and a TW Steel watch. The rest of the finalists each received a TW Steel Pilot watch and tokens from Canon Philippines, which sponsored the printing of all the photographs. The “Big Time” exhibit is on view until Nov. 9.
“We want to show the creativity of the fans and friends of TW Steel as to how they will interpret the 10 years of ‘Big Time’ of the brand,” explains TW Steel Philippines brand manager Cathy Porlaje.
A decade and 300 designs later, TW Steel continues to make bold statements, creating function and form with Swiss quality standard. “As to the DNA of the brand, I think the tagline says it all: ‘Big in oversized watches,” she says. “The watches come in 45 and 50 millimeter sizes. That sets it apart from others.”
The new pieces from the Canteen collection feature 45mm and 50mm case sizes, and each design comes in a 3-Hand, Chrono and Automatic movement edition. All models utilize a high-precision movement. For a sporty look, the new leather-strap series features a big caliber chrono movement with two chrono eyes with a sapphire layer on the crystals.
The Canteen bracelet series comes in brushed steel, PVD rose gold plating, PVD yellow gold plating, and two-tone combining steel and PVD plating. Each watch also features 3-Hand executions, incorporating a shiny bezel with shiny mid-pieces on the bracelet. The Chrono has a tachymeter on the bezel and a brushed steel bracelet. The Automatic has a hammered bezel and hammered mid-pieces.
The Canteen style remains such a favorite that TW Steel has created its limited-edition, diamond-crusted Apex Canteen as its anniversary watch.
“Personally, I take a great degree of satisfaction that 10 years on, there’s still room to develop the range,” says TW Steel co-founder and chief design officer Ton Cobelens. “Canteen has showed its staying power in the market. With the new adaptations, we’ve kept its DNA and enhanced its appeal.”
Yeah, Steel’s big after all these years.
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TW Steel is distributed in the Philippines by Lucerne. The watches from the latest collection are available at The Podium, SM Aura, SM Megamall, EDSA Shangri-La Mall, SM North EDSA, SM Makati, Century Mall, in Chronos, Swiss Gear and Wristpod stores, and in Adora and Le Temps in Resorts World Manila.
