Chronographs and Celebrities Sparkle at Max XL Philippines Launch
The Netherlands. As someone who was born and raised next door in Germany, I usually associate our neighbors to the west with tasty cheese, wooden shoes and famous painters like Vincent van Gogh or Rembrandt. I never connected the country with high quality designer watches, to be honest, but that changed with the launch of Max XL in the Philippines. Read on to learn more about the latest brand to enter the battle for the space on your wrist.
Max XL was created by Dutch designer Ron Offenbach and launched in the Netherlands in 2006. Since then, the brand has found its way into stores in Italy, Russia, Japan, Hong Kong and now the Philippines. Location for the official launch on these shores was 71 Gramercy in Makati, where gleaming watches and glamorous attendees were competing for attention on the night.Â
Max XL specializes in over-sized wristwatches, the planet-sized time indicators that are all the rage at the moment. In terms of design, the brand carries a range from the everyday Classic Chronograph to the more elegant Automatic series with genuine leather straps and a solid stainless steel case with ion plating rose gold. On the strap’s front, options include leather in various colors, stainless steel links and on-trend rubber. Size-wise, things are obviously on the larger side and range from the round 42mm diameter model, which the press release tells us is mostly aimed at female buyers, to the XXL-sized 55mm Aviator series, which presumably is mainly aimed at men called Hulk or Hercules.
Like all self-respecting brands these days, Max XL has recruited some Brand Ambassadors to communicate its desired image better to you, the consumer. In this instance, the celebs trying to put a big watch on your wrist are director Sid Maderazo, singer/songwriter Abby Asistio and musical multi-talent Rico Blanco. All three were happily smiling for the cameras while showing off their half-ton hour indicators that night.
You don’t need to be a celeb to be noticed with a Max XL on your wrist, though. The company actually calls the slightly-smaller-than-a-jeepney-wheel size of their products a ‘sublime overstatement in fashion’. You have to love marketing speak sometimes.
Some of these watches are so big, I’m pretty sure they come with their own zip code and gravitational field. Despite their size, though, Max XL has managed to keep the design tidy and elegant. I like buying watches and looked at a few over-sized ones from other brands in the past but could never get myself to support this particular trend. Max XL may just have gotten the balance right, though. They are over-sized but not overstated. Big, but not boisterous. Planet-sized, but not pompous.
It’s hard to describe exactly what it’s like to wear a Max XL, but in a way they don’t feel as big as they look and hold a pleasant elegance to them that I was definitely missing when I tried some other brands before. Making the hands go round the super-sized faces of the current collection are, as far as I can tell, Japanese made Miyota movements. These proven workhorses from the house of Citizen should ensure that your maximum-sized Max XL will run reliably for many years to come.
Luckily, you won’t need an over-sized bank account to afford a Max XL. While definitely somewhat of a premium product, prices for these celebrity endorsed titanic-sized time tellers start at Php10,500.00 for the single-movement models and go up to Php29,800.00 for the Automatic series. The current collection is now available in urban lifestyle retail stores like Bratpack at Greenbelt, Alabang Town Center, Shangri-la and Robinsons-Magnolia, Washington-Shangrila and Glorietta, or check out their Facebook page for more info on where to buy yours.
Max XL Philippines
Facebook:Â https://www.facebook.com/MaxXLPhilippines
Twitter: @MAXXLPH
