The 31 year-old English sailor already has three Olympic medals to his credit. At the height of his career, Ben Ainslie becomes a Corum ambassador and is determined to continue his success winning his fourth medal.

Immersed in the world of sailing since his childhood years, Ben Ainslie began sailing at the age of 8, winning his first World Championship at 16. The sailor and the Swiss watch brand Corum go back quite a way; the company were his first ever sponsor making him the proud owner of a Corum watch when he began his professional sailing career at the age 17.

In Beijing, Ben will be defending his national colours racing the Men’s single-handed heavy weight Finn dinghy a boat he is well acquainted with, having already won five World Championship titles in the Finn. He has also been closely involved with the America’s Cup. After an initial campaign with One World in 2000, he joined Team New Zealand as helmsman in 2004. In 2007, Ben was appointed skipper of Team Origin.

A passionate devotee of sailing and the sea in general, Ben is also a watch connoisseur and collector. He was won over by the Admiral’s Cup Tides from Corum because this model combines both a world-exclusive complication and an indispensable sailing instrument.

For coastal regions with a twice-daily lunar cycle (in which the sea rises and falls every 12 hours and 25 minutes on average), the Admiral’s Cup Tides 48 provides all the key information on tides: the lunar cycles and the strength of the tide, an estimation of water levels, the strength of the currents, and the time of the tides.

The three different mechanisms composing the tides movement called for around three years of development between 1988 and 1991. In cooperation with the Geneva Astronomical Observatory and the SHOM (Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department of the French Navy) in Brest, which confirmed its remarkable precision.

The CORUM CO-277 Tides movement is an exclusive complicated movement endowed with several functions that are visible on the watch dial through three separate counters.

The counter at 12 o’clock indicates the various states of the moon, thereby reproducing its position in relation to the earth and the sun and defining the strengths of the tides that are expressed by coefficients 95-120 and 20-45. When the moon, the earth and the sun are perfectly aligned, the attraction exercised by the earth and the strength of the tides are at their peak. Tides are weaker in other situations. The counter at 6 o’clock indicates the times of low and high tides over a 24-hour period (meaning 2 low tides and 2 high tides per day).
The rising and falling tide indications are displayed at 9 o’clock, as well as the intensity of the current. The intensity of the tide is strongest when the hand is lined up with the red line.

As one of the major complications mastered by Corum, the exclusive Admiral’s Cup Tides movement puts the brand right up among the finest names in the watchmaking world.

Corum is supporting Ben Ainslie and wishes him the best of luck in winning his fourth Olympic medal in the 29th Olympic Games in Beijing, and a chance to distinguish himself in his discipline by going for gold !

The Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH) was created in Geneva in 2005 to make the heritage and values of fine watchmaking, and its precious timepieces, more widely known across the world. The Foundation believes that fine watchmaking symbolises a culture and know-how which are embodied in exceptional products and represent a unique storehouse of history, savoir-faire, creativity and centuries-old skills from which it derives its credibility. The purpose of the Foundation is therefore to promote this culture and expertise, hand its values down to new generations and convey its ethical message.

The objectives of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie and the standards it epitomizes are in perfect harmony with the new strategy established by Corum’s current President, Michael Wunderman, and CEO, Antonio Calce; their aspiration is to reposition the brand in the luxury segment and restore its historical legitimacy. With that aim in mind, the collections are being refocussed on the four pillars represented by the Admiral’s Cup, Romulus, Golden Bridge models and the exceptional pieces. The intention is to achieve global coherence of the product with the brand image by maintaining a perfect balance between creativity and quality.

This revitalization of CORUM products consequently also involves a new strategy for the movements. “We intend to propose movements specially developed for each of the four pillars on which our product offering is now based. Each pillar will have a supplier whose profile corresponds to the exact spirit of the particular collection”, Antonio Calce explains. In parallel with this product strategy, CORUM is rebuilding its distribution network by reducing the number of points of sale across the world, appointing regional managers and establishing more sustainable relations with its distributors.

The new Admiral’s Cup collection has already been designed with this coherent approach in mind. Corum will be exhibiting a model from this collection, its latest Admiral’s Cup Challenge 44 chronograph, from 7 to 9 December in Paris, on the occasion of the first edition of “Belles Montres”, at the Salon International de l’Horlogerie de Prestige in the unique setting of the Carrousel du Louvre. Here, the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie will be presenting for the first time in Paris its mission and activities through a unique exhibition entitled: “The chronograph, an expression of our modern times”.

This will be an opportunity for Corum, as a partner brand of the FHH, to present itself to a large audience who will be able to discover a world habitually reserved for a privileged clientele or devotees of fine luxury watchmaking.

Corum is an independent family-owned company producing high quality Swiss watches since 1955.