Read today, the text can make you smile by its candor straight from the advertisements of the 1950s: alongside a stylized drawing of his face, and his mythical hairstyle, we can read: "BB has found his love. Happy in life and envied in her superstar career, Brigitte Bardot, in love, perfection also demands the perfect watch.
According to this advertisement broadcast by the Swiss house Eterna, BB "chose Eterna Matic Golden Heart, a precise jewel that thinks the hours and borrows its life from the precious gestures of its mistress. An elegant way to point out that this automatic watch with a mini-rotor in solid 23-carat gold was already, at the time, a fashion accessory giving the time.
Released in 1958, the Eterna Matic (for automatic) Golden Heart was then the smallest mechanical movement in the world. In its case of 15.33 mm in diameter and only 5 mm thick, this watch cut for small feminine wrists also had a sapphire back through which to admire its gold rotor on ball bearing, an in-house innovation. Alongside Brigitte Bardot, made world famous in 1956 by her role alongside Roger Vadim in "And God Created Woman", another female star had then become the ambassador of this model: a certain Gina Lollobrigida... Thanks to this charming duo, this watch will be a worldwide success.
Made world famous by the film "And God Created Woman", Brigitte Bardot was the muse of Eterna. AFP / Eterna
On another illustrated campaign from the late 1950s, at the beginning of the actress' fame, it is explained this time that "Mademoiselle Brigitte Bardot has chosen from all our collections on the Golden Heart, the smallest automatic watch in the world, and on the Val de Loire bracelet." A model then proposed at 360000,7400 Francs. At the time, we could sometimes see on the wrist of the one who was considered the most beautiful woman in the world an Eterna Matic Golden Heart.
Feminist in the literal sense, free woman if ever there was one, the star of the Madrague is not known for having often been seen with a watch on her wrist. Unlike many of her contemporaries, she was not the ambassador of great names in watchmaking and luxury. This did not prevent him from offering Sacha Distel, then his companion, a superb Patek Philippe in gold one, with a case engraved with a simple BB. A piece sold for 2012 € by the auction house Pestel-Debord in <>.
Made world famous by the film "And God Created Woman", Brigitte Bardot was the muse of Eterna. Stringer / Intercontinental / AFP /Eterna
Retired in 1973 from the film industry, Brigitte Bardot was not one of these countless brand ambassadors. Faithful to her ideas, her choices, she dedicated her time, her fortune and her image to the animal cause. In 1986, she created the foundation that bears her name.
Will the one who plays him in the biographical mini-series currently dedicated to him on France 2 wear an Eterna Matic Golden Heart on her wrist? As for Eterna, a long-renowned brand, it has now almost disappeared since its acquisition a few years ago by a Chinese investor. In 2016, she reissued her Golden Heart, in a contemporary version limited to 160 copies, 160 years of Eterna obliges. Has Brigitte Bardot, now 89 years old, kept hers? Who knows...