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Ryan Reynolds Credits Steve Martin for His Love of Piaget Watches The Hollywood Reporter

Ryan Reynolds, who was named an international brand ambassador for Piaget last June, is among the many stars who have descended on Geneva, Switzerland, this week for the Swiss watch industry’s Salon International de la Haute Horologerie fair, which presents 2017 introductions through Friday, Jan. 20. Yesterday, Reynolds appeared at Piaget’s sprawling booth at the fair and later in the evening was the guest of honor at a celebratory dinner hosted by the luxury watchmaker on the outskirts of the city.

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Reynolds and Piaget CEO Philippe Leopold-Metzger took to the stage at the dinner to talk about the relationship between the brand and the Hollywood star. Reynolds told guests that he first became enamored of Piaget by seeing one of their watches in the 1987 film Planes, Trains and Automobiles starring Steve Martin. It’s a film, said the actor, “that I grew up with that was sort of like my bible. And in that movie one of my heroes at a young age was Steve Martin, and Steve Martin has this Piaget watch, which he’s at one point in the movie unfortunately forced to trade for room and board. But from that point on, it really stuck in my head as something timeless and classic and there was something about him that had this relaxed luxury vibe about him that made this watch very special for me.” Martin calls the timepiece “a hell of a nice watch” in the film when he hocks it to a hotel manager. When Reynolds was years later approached by the brand about representing the brand, “I was thrilled,” he said.

The evening marked the 60th anniversary of the introduction of Piaget’s Altiplano watch in 1957, a signature timepiece of the brand famed for its ulta-thin profile. Guests, who included retailers, Swiss novelist Joel Dicker and Hong Kong-based style blogger Charles Lam, toured an exhibition of historical pieces and saw new anniversary editions of the Altiplano.

Said Reynolds of why he likes Piaget’s Altiplano: “I love a big face on a watch and I think there’s something very masculine about that, but I also love the ultra-thinness of this watch, which is incredible. It goes right under anything you are wearing,” he said.

Reynolds, who sported one of the limited-edition anniversary pieces, said that he’d only been to Geneva once previously. “Geneva now twice has been a port in a storm for me. Seven years ago I was on a motorcycle trip through the Alps and I was coming I believe from Lucerne and it was September so it’s supposed to be beautiful weather here, and it was about 10-degrees and monsoon rains. I pulled into Geneva and I feel like the people in this city and the hospitality basically saved my life. I think I sat in a warm bathtub for about seven or eight hours once I got here.”

He felt similarly about Geneva on this trip. “Now I have two children under 2 years old so Geneva has also become a port in a storm for me because they’re not here. I got eight hours of sleep last night. I woke up with the most ridiculous grin on my face this morning.”

While Reynolds and his commercial talent agent, WME’s Will Ward, took off from the dinner before dessert was served — undoubtedly to try and get another good night’s sleep (“My children hop on me at like 4:30 in the morning,” said Reynolds as he left) — many guests stayed for an after-party featuring a five-piece band and free-flowing whiskey.

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Martina Birk

Update: 2024-05-05