Watch Out, Charlize Theron

ByABC News
February 12, 2007, 1:43 PM

— -- Imagine earning millions of dollars just to strap on a diamond watch. Such is the life of Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron. That is all the South African siren was required to do to rake in some serious extra dough, but apparently she just couldn't stick to this arduous task.

Raymond Weil, a maker of luxury Swiss watches, hit Theron with a lawsuit last Monday, alleging she violated a lucrative endorsement deal by wearing other designers' timepieces. The suit accuses the actress of two-timing the company by wearing a Christian Dior watch in public -- a serious faux pas in light of her $20 million deal.

Weil's attorney, David Jaroslawicz, refused to comment, but key players in the celebrity endorsement industry say the company has a point.

"When companies like Weil put eight figures behind a campaign, exclusivity is very important to the brand," explains Ryan Schinman, president of Platinum Rye Entertainment, which negotiates talent buys on behalf of advertisers and corporations. "The minute she's seen wearing a competitor's jewelry it diminishes the entire believability of the campaign."

However, Schinman explains that it's not entirely Theron's fault. "As far as what Charlize did I'm sure it was unintentional but it is her team's responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen." And, he says, the incident will likely have repercussions in the industry. "Agents and clients are likely to be a lot more careful about policing their clients in the future," he predicts.

The 31-year-old star of "Monster" and "North Country" signed on as the face of a multimillion-dollar ad campaign in October 2005, apparently agreeing to wear only Raymond Weil watches in public. Theron promoted the limited edition line of diamond-covered Shine watches, which sell for $7,000.

But Theron angered sponsors when she turned up in a Tourneau catalogue wearing a faux diamond watch over the words, "Charlize Theron wears Dior." Theron had an endorsement deal to promote a Dior perfume. Theron was also photographed wearing a watch from the Christian Dior line at a March news conference at a film festival in Austin, Texas. Representatives for Theron wouldn't comment.