Star Power

YEARS AGO, AS I pondered the purchase of a Patek Philippe Aquanaut, I happened to spot the same watch on Paul McCartney's wrist in a random photo. That made up my mind for me. If the former Beatle - whom I idolized - wore it, I absolutely had to have it.

McCartney is not even paid to endorse Patek Philippe watches, but there's no denying the effect that star power has on mere mortals.

Marketeers have known this since the 1940s, but it was only in the 1990s that the watch industry caught on as it sought novel ways to reach a new and wider audience in the aftermath of the quartz crisis.