Photo by Camille Robiou du Pont
The CEO of the Swiss luxury house surfs alongside Filipina surfing athlete Aping Agudo to debut the Saint-Tropez Navigator watch collection
At the break of dawn, the sun’s hues of orange have started to bleed into the Pesangan sea’s blue canvas. The Philippine sunrise was a view that Coralie Charriol had both appreciated and grown accustomed to throughout her many trips to the country over the years.
In retrospect, Coralie has always had a deep connection with the sun. This admiration began when her late father Philippe Charriol, founder of the eponymous jewelry and watch house, would travel from one sunrise to the next as a businessman. “He was always following the sun,” Coralie says.
While continuing in her father’s footsteps Coralie found herself at different corners of the world. Immersing in various cultures had become second nature, and living life differently and daringly from her contemporaries had become the norm.
In characteristic fashion the first thing Coralie set out to do upon arriving in Siargao was to begin surfing with Aping Agudo. A Siargao native, Agudo (or Jessah Agudo Bowling) is a renowned surfer, competing in the World Surf League and snagged multiple titles throughout her longboarding career.
Coralie and Aping glided gracefully over Siargao’s waters. Despite the difference in backgrounds the pair found a mutual understanding above the waves. For the two, surfing has intertwined itself into each facet of their lives.
“Sometimes I describe life and surfing as something similar, you have to wake up early, you have to look for your wave, be there at the right time and place, you fight to get up to the break, and sometimes you’ll miss the wave, but you just have to catch the next one,” Coralie says.
The pursuit of surfing in itself follows the sun. Chasing the dusk and dawn are integral to the height and strength of the tides, and determining the timing of it all is what led to Charriol’s latest timepiece.
Charriol’s Saint-Tropez Navigator is a watch born from a love for surfing. Much like how her father’s collections were influenced by the racetrack, Coralie sought to infuse her passions into the release of her first collection upon helming Charriol. The steel encased Navigator is a timepiece durable enough to hold its own against the current. Being water resistant at a depth of a hundred meters, the watch serves as a companion that can withstand the sea’s breaking waves.
For its 40th anniversary, the jewelry house aims to be as daring as its successor, led by Coralie Charriol’s pursuit of the waves, the sun, and her father’s footsteps.
Photography by Camille Robiou du Pont. Styling and Creative Direction by Renee de Guzman. Hair and Makeup by Queency Perez. Produced by Ian Urmaza. Multimedia Artist: Andie Quintos. Models: Coralie Charriol-Paul and Aping Agudo. Written by Gab Yap. Shot on location at Lubihan Siargao.
