A French tennis player, Gael Monfils, has signed an agreement with the Swiss luxury watchmaker de Bethune which will make him the brand’s official ambassador during the course of next three years. With the introduction of the flamboyant athlete known for his colorful personality and attractive style of play, De Bethune is entering the stage of professional tennis for the first time during its relatively short period of existence.
Gael Monfils
Gael Monfils is a 27 year old athlete who currently holds the 21st place in the overall ATP rankings. During the course of his career, his best ranking was the 7th place and he also managed to win five titles from the tournaments in the Masters series. When it comes to the Grand Slam tournaments, his greatest success was involvement in the semi-finals of the French Open in 2008. During the period, he was also the French number one player, which is the title now held by Joe-Wilfred Tsonga. Despite not being at the very top of the sport, Monfils is still regarded as one of the most interesting and attractive athletes in the sport. He is well known for his extreme flexibility, athleticism and jumping strikes. Moreover, the player with penchant for attractive plays the holder of the record for the most powerful forehand for several years. Monfils’ atypical and bold style of play and great communication with the audience are exactly the reasons why De Bethune’s officials chose him as the first tennis player to be the brand’s ambassador.
Additionally, Geal Monfils was picked by the brand because he resides in the Swiss town of Trelex and is known as a devoted collector of wristwatches. In the brand’s official statement, the French tennis player explains the reason why De Bethune watches stand out in his collection of more than 30 Haute Horlogerie products. “I appreciate the technical nature and the innovations they have brought to the watchmaking world”, said Monfils.
Gael Monfils and Pierre Jacques
The statement of the player with a host of nicknames such as Le Monf, Panthera and Sliderman is certainly not unfounded. During the short period of existence, the brand has released 19 in-house calibers which possess ten patented technical solutions.
De Bethune was founded just 12 years ago by Dennis Flageollet and David Zanetta and is now headed by Pierre Jacques. The highest point in the brand’s history is the Golden Hand award at the GPHG 2011 which is considered as the highest annual award in the industry. This iconic model, or to be more precise its subsequent matte black edition which was unveiled this year is exactly the watch which De Bethune has chosen to be worn by Monfils. The Swiss company whose annual production is somewhere between 300 and 400 models usually sells its innovative products at the price of around $100,000. The latest models by the watchmaker are Dream Watch 5 and DB 28 Digitale which we presented at the start of this year.
