When you have a sublimely elegant wrist watch to present to the world, you need a sublimely elegant brand ambassador.

Audrey Hepburn set the bar high when she did promotions for Longines in the 1950s, a height even Humphrey Bogart couldn't hope to achieve when he spoke for the 174-year-old Swiss watchmaker, let alone Harry Connick Jr or Italian dancer Roberto Bolle.

But in this "Age of Asia", Longines brand ambassadors including Bollywood star and 1994's Miss World Aishwarya Rai, Taiwanese model Lin Chi Ling and Chinese actors Carina Lau and Aaron Kwok have set new standards.

Now it's Thai actress and model Sarah Malakul Lane's turn to tout the merits of this Swatch Group brand.

Camera flashes captured every facet of Sarah's smile recently when she signed a contract with Longines president Walter von Kaenel.

And she had reason to smile: She'd been chosen from a list of 100 other famous Thai names.

"I grew up with watches," she told the press.

"My father is a keen collector. He bought me a colourful Swatch when I was 10."

A few years later she was more interested in luxury than "colour", and Longines has never been far from her wrist.

From now on she'll be sporting the new Longines's BelleArti collection.

But the actress brand ambassador? Well, she said, it's perfect because she's always been punctual!

"I don't usually change watches regularly," Sarah remarked, "and when I get a new one, I keep the old one."

She still has that first timepiece her dad bought her, and it's still in good working order.

"But I can't call myself a collector. The ones I have are just worth keeping."

At the signing, Sarah was wearing a watch styled in pink gold, an array of diamonds on the case. She posed with it easily, every bit the successful fashion model.

People are used to seeing her on the catwalk, and many will have seen her in the 2003 Steven Seagal movie "Belly of the Beast". She's known for her clean image, and that's got to help her as an ambassador.

A few years ago Sarah did commercials for Toyoya.

"I always use the product I represent," she said. "I don't just show my face as a presenter. And the Toyota is a good car!"

Currently she also sells Best Food low-calorie salad creams on TV for Unilever and a jasmine-scented soap in India.

Sarah admits she has a lot of work in India, and her face is becoming familiar there. The soap ads were filmed in Cape Town, South Africa.

"But I won't represent products in the same or similar categories," she insisted.

"There's no similarity among any of the products I endorse."

Meanwhile her agent in Los Angeles keeps her busy with modelling jobs in Singapore, Hong Kong and the Middle East, as well as India.

"I think I'm getting more famous at the international level. Global fame is something that needs to be built up gradually. I just have to do my best today, and the future will come."

Vipasai Niyamabha

The Nation