Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at Prix de Diane Longines

Chantilly (France) / St.-Imier (Switzerland), 12th June 2011 – For the first time this year, the Swiss watch brand Longines had the privilege of being the title partner in the Prix de Diane Longines. The day of June 12 was full of elegance and prestige and Maxime Guyon riding Golden Lilac won the Prix de Diane Longines.

Both trainer André Fabre and French jockey Maxime Guyon achieved a fantastic performance by winning 4 Group races 4 courses during the afternoon. Alongside the races, the beautiful Longines Ambassadress of Elegance Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan had the pleasure to give away the Prize of Elegance “Mademoiselle Diane par Longines” to Valentine Simon. The day before, the Swiss watch brand gave a gala dinner in the Château de Chantilly.

Elegant clothing and colored hats on the lawn of Chantilly’s racecourse, the Prix de Diane Longines lived up to the expectations this Sunday 12 of June. Maxime Guyon on Golden Lilac won this group I race and received his trophy, as well as a Longines Column-Wheel watch from the hands of Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan, Longines Ambassadress of Elegance and Walter Von Känel, President of Longines. During the afternoon, style hunters have gone all over the racecourse in the search of the most elegant women of the day for the event “Mademoiselle Diane par Longines”. A panel of jury made up of Aiswarya Rai-Bachchan as well of representatives of France Galop, Longines and Grazia magazine have then selected the proud winner of the Longines Prize of Elegance, Ms Valentine Simon.

The renowned Chinese actress Yao Chen was also the guest of Longines for this special day. Superstar on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, with a total of 8’700’000 fans, she also received the Hua Ding Award 2010 for the best actress, a prestigious honour. Yao Chen particularly liked the beauty of the landscape around the Chateau de Chantilly and followed the races carefully. Besides, she had the pleasure to give away a Longines watch to the owner of the racehorse winner of the Prix Paul de Moussac.

Gala dinner
To add an extra touch of elegance to the weekend, the Swiss watchmaker had organised a gala dinner on Saturday night, the day before the Prix de Diane Longines. This gala was held in the sumptuous setting of the Château de Chantilly, a castle that stands in the middle of a vast domain formed since Middle-Age by Chantilly’s owners. The Château de Chantilly houses one of the most beautiful museum of old paintings after Le Louvre and a very complete library of rare and precious books.

Longines DolceVita – An ode to contemporary elegance
Alongside the Bollywood icon and Longines ambassador of elegance Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan, the brand’s other guests have been able to admire the new ladies’ Longines DolceVita models. This collection is an ode to elegance, the emblematic quality promoted by Longines. Launched in 1997, this watch collection has been successful all around the globe and models can be seen on many an elegant lady’s wrist. The inspiration for the creations in this collection is the famous Italian “dolce vita”. The characteristic rectangular form of the case with its pleasing proportions allows for many variations. Longines has now launched a new range in the Longines DolceVita collection whose design is at once refined and attractively fresh. Two different colours of gold have been chosen to enhance the brilliance of the steel. This range includes various versions in steel and yellow gold or steel and rose gold, some of which are set with diamonds. These new models will add a fresh dimension to the watchmaking elegance that is characteristic of Longines.

Based in St. Imier in Switzerland since 1832, the watchmaker Longines can look back on more than 175 years of non-stop craftsmanship, as well as a solid heritage as timekeeper for world championships in various sports and collaborator with different international sports federations. Known for the elegance of its timepieces, Longines is a member of the Swatch Group Ltd, the World’s leading manufacturer of horological products. With the winged hourglass as its emblem, the brand has outlets in over 130 countries.