A TALENTED LEADER WITH ARISTOCRATIC MANNERS NIKOLAS GARUZI IS THE CEO OF AUDEMARS PIGUET MIDDLE EAST FOR 18 YEARS. SO HISTORICALLY IT HAPPENED THAT THE BRAND REPRESENTATION IS IN BEIRUT, BUT ALMOST EVERY MONTH NIKOLAS HAS TO BE IN DUBAI. CHIEF EDITOR OF “RUSSIAN EMIRATES” IRINA MALKOVA MET WITH HIM IN THE ELS CLUB DUBAI GOLF CLUB, WHERE 2 DAY CLOSED AUDEMARS PIGUET TURNED OUT GOLFNY UZHELNY UZHELNY UZHOLNYU. Nicholas, you can talk as much as you like about why a particular brand is becoming a cult, but you still want to hear your opinion. How did the brand become so popular?
Nicholas Garzuzi: The brand itself originated in 1875, but the cult began in 1972 with the advent of the Royal Oak watch. At that time, all people were shocked by the fact that we produced watches in a steel case, since this metal was not at all in demand for the production of exclusive watches - then they used gold or platinum. Many thought that we were crazy, but soon almost all brands began to use steel. So Royal Oak became a cult model. We broke the rules, but revolutionized the industry. Since then, our credo is: "To break the rules, you must first create them."
Not so long ago in Dubai, a new collection of your other famous watch line was introduced - Millenary. This watch is easily recognizable by its oval-shaped case and a striking dial in terms of beauty and complexity. Why was the oval chosen?
Nicholas Garzuzi: In ancient times, the Roman Colosseum had an oval shape. Then it was believed that this is an ideal object in terms of both science and architecture. If you reduce the Colosseum and look at it from above, you will see a shape resembling the design of a Millenary watch. When you put on a watch, you feel that it fits perfectly on your wrist.
And having released the “off-serial” Diamond Punk model last year, you, perhaps, surpassed some jewelry brands in mastery.
Nicolas Garzuzi: Traditionally, we present our jewelry watches at SIHH, Diamond Punk watches were shown there last year. Months and months of painstaking work were spent on their production.
Watches were created only in duplicate and sold in the early days of the exhibition. But the demand was so great that we had to make several more models. At the current SIHH we will present the watch in a similar manner, but more unusual.
In the 80s, the brand began to actively cooperate with the world of famous people. How did you manage to draw attention to the brand of many celebrities - from Hollywood actors to statesmen?
Nicholas Garzuzi: It’s very difficult to persuade or convince such people. They already have fame, money and recognition. Therefore, our watches were the best advertising. Celebrities began to buy Audemars Piguet models, they liked them, they impressed our traditions, historical heritage and innovations. This gradually evolved our cooperation. We supported the same charity projects as they did. And we can say that they became our independent messengers of their own free will.
Who is your most important messenger today?
Nicholas Garzuzi: The most important messenger is our watch. Now our strategy is focused on the product itself. We don’t always need stars to promote a particular model. But we are still very grateful to our long-standing and reliable partners - famous golfers, for example. By the way, our cooperation with the world of golf began in 1989, when Nick Faldo was appointed brand ambassador.
By the way, why golf?
Nicolas Garzuzi: Because it is an elegant sport and at the same time very competitive. To become a true professional in golf, you need to spend a lot of time and effort, and here it is easy to draw an analogy with watchmaking. Watchmakers are not born. It takes years of painstaking work, incredible patience, experience and skill to become a watchmaker with a capital letter.
