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Chitralekha Group celebrates the best of Horology at the second edition of Watch World Awards 2011

Greater Noida, September 24, 2011 - The most respected publication in the field of horology, Watch World, from the Chitralekha Group hosted the second edition of Watch World Awards at Jaypee Greens Golf and Spa Resort, Greater Noida, today.

The awards which brought in marquee watches and glittering celebrities lauded the major watch brands for their timing masterpieces. Moderated by Chitralekha's President and Publisher, Mitrajit Bhattacharya, the jury which comprised of Mr. Antoine Simonin, an extremely accomplished Swiss master watchmaker and author based in Neuchatel with over 50 years of watch making experience; Ms. Chhaya Momaya, a leading image consultant; reputed journalist and a keen observer of the luxury space Mr. Ayaz Memon and distinguished jewellery designer Ms. Varuna D Jani, awarded leading watches across categories like ‘Watch of the Year’, ‘Complicated Watch of the Year’, ‘Sports Watch of the Year’, ‘Watch with Best Design’, ‘Concept Watch of the Year’ and more.

Commenting on the occasion, Mitrajit Bhattacharya said, “With participation of international brands with their latest global launches, Watch World Award is an international award coming from India’s premier watch magazine. An event made possible, thanks to whole hearted participation by leading and iconic brands and a jury comprising the best from the world of horology, fashion, sports, aesthetics and design.

The jury also presented awards across marketing categories like ‘Best Campaign in Print’, ‘Best Campaign on Television’, ‘Best Boutique’, ‘Best Organised Event’ and more, which were adjudged by seasoned marketing professionals Ms. Sharda Agarwal and Mr. Shripad Nadkarni, the founders of Market Gate Consulting.

Jury member, Antoine Simonin, on his second visit to India to judge the awards, commented “I am honoured to be a part of the jury once again. There has been an exponential increase in the brands and quality of nominations this year. Seeing the response of global brands in the second year, Watch World Award has made a mark for itself in a very short span.

The winners in the product categories were ZENITH Christophe Colomb which won the award for ‘Watch of the Year’ and the ‘Complicated Watch of the Year’, making it the most successful watch of the evening. While the TAG HEUER Heuer Carrera Mikrograph 1/100th Second Chronograph won the ‘Sports Watch of the Year’ award, CORUM Golden Bridge Automatic was adjudged the ‘Watch with Best Design’, CITIZEN Satellite Wave won the ‘Concept Watch of the Year’ award and GREUBEL FORSEY Invention Piece 2 which was adjudged the ‘Limited Edition Watch of the Year’. Also presented were the ‘Jewellery Watch of the Year’ award which went to HARRY WINSTON Rendez- Vous and the ‘Fashion Watch of the Year’ award which was won by HARRY WINSTON Rosebud. While ‘The Watch with Most Innovative Material’ was awarded to HUBLOT “Cathedral” Minute Repeater Tourbillon & Column Wheel Chronograph, the ‘Watch with Highest Utility’ award was presented to SEIKO Premier Kinetic Perpetual with SEIKO Seiko 5 – 130th Year Collection bagging the ‘Value for Money Watch of the Year’ award.

On the other hand, across the Marketing categories the ‘Best Campaign in Print’ award was picked up by ROMAIN JEROME Moon Dust DNA whilst TITAN Purple picked the award for ‘Best Campaign on Television’. While ‘The Best Out of Home Campaign’ did not have a clear winner, the TAG HEUER Connaught Place Boutique picked the 'Best Boutique’ award and BREITLING Air Show - Buochs 2010 and PARMIGIANI Montreux Jazz Festival 2010 were jointly adjudged the ‘Best Organised Event’.

Another big award for the night was the first individual award to Stephen Forsey, Co-founder of Greubel Forsey Watches for his ‘Special Contribution to Haute Horlogerie’. On receiving the award, Stephen Forsey said, “It’s very exciting for Greubel Forsey to be in India and to get this prestigious award from the biggest specialist magazine, Watch World”.

At the gala event were spotted industry heavyweights, corporates and bureaucrats like Stephen Forsey, the co-founder of Greubel Forsey watches; Romain Dezaux, Regional Brand Manager of Baume & Mercier,  Mukhtar Mohammed, Regional Market Director of Carl F Bucherer,  Ravinder Zutshi, Deputy MD, Samsung India, Anil Rajput, Senior VP, Corporate Affairs, ITC Limited, Amitabh Kant, CEO & MD - DMIC along with socialites of the city like Sanjeev Dalmia, Maharani Uma Gajapathi Raju, Ramola Bachchan, Sharik Currimbhoy, Raja Aditya Katoch, and other dignitaries.

The event which started with a cocktail session at the pre-award area featured the exhibition of the nominated brands and beautiful artefacts which was followed by the awards ceremony marked by a jazz performance, followed by dinner over lounge music, the evening melted into a relaxing Sunday morning interspersed with a round of golf at the Jaypee Greens and a heavenly brunch session.

In the words of Virender Sehwag who attended the event with much panache,Watches have always been a fetish to me and coming in here is a dream-come-true. I am excited to be a part of this awards ceremony which recognizes the best from the world of horology and would really like to see the best timepieces winning. It definitely is a great initiative on the part of Chitralekha Group to come up with something of this magnitude and I wish all the participating brands best of luck for the awards.