Vegas show may be perfect timing for Omega promotion

Friday, May 30, 1997 | 11:44 a.m.

To Omega Ltd., the internationally known Swiss watch company, supermodel Cindy Crawford isn't just another pretty face.

She'll be offering her expertise on jewelry for a new line of wristwatches that Omega will preview at a show opening in Las Vegas today.

Jean-Claude Biver, an Omega board member, said Crawford serves as a spokeswoman for the company worldwide except in the United States, where she is in the final year of a contract prohibiting her from the endorsement.

Omega is the king of the out-of-this-world promotion, recruiting big stars to promote its products and putting its watches through the rigors of space travel to sell their durability.

The Cindy Constellation will be previewed at Omega's booth at the JCK jewelry show, a closed trade show.

The case and bracelet of the rounded ladies model are manufactured in 18-karat gold and steel with a bezel set with diamonds. A mother-of-pearl face is adorned with 12 diamonds.

"We are working very closely on the endorsement with Cindy Crawford," Biver said by telephone from Switzerland prior to the show's opening. "She is actually offering her input on the design and size of the watch."

Crawford will begin promoting Omega products in the United States sometime next year and has joined a list of celebrities that has given the company a global presence, Biver said.

Crawford joins another model, Elle Macpherson, and Pierce Brosnan, the latest actor to portray British secret agent James Bond. Many 007 films have had Omega products prominently featured.

Another film to parlay the Omega name: "Apollo 13," with Tom Hanks and Bill Paxton. Omega watches flew with and functioned well during the ill-fated space flight to the moon on which the film is based.

Omega also has recruited athletes to carry its banner, with tennis star Martina Hingis, golfer Ernie Els and auto racers Michael Schumacher and Michael Andretti endorsing the timepieces.

Biver said two more new watch designs will be shown for the first time in the United States at the Las Vegas show and will be available by fall.

The Dynamic, a steel watch with a black dial inspired by the military watches of the 1950s, will be shown. Omega was a supplier of military watches worn by pilots in wartime years.

Biver also said the Seamaster 200, a quartz watch without a battery, would be shown. The design includes an Omegamatic generator system that powers the watch through the natural movement of the wrist. Without movement, the watch would stay powered for up to eight days.

After the show, Biver, a three-year member of the Omega board and a professional in the watch industry since 1975, will fly to Houston to meet with NASA officials at the Johnson Space Center. Omega is developing a watch called the X-33, expected to be released next year in observance of the company's 150th anniversary. Company officials are hoping the watch will be on a space voyage to Mars.