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Dr. Vicki Belo shares how her wedding led to her becoming the only Filipino ambassador of a luxury watch brand
[Ed’s note: As soon as we heard Dr. Vicki Belo was chosen to be an ambassador for luxury watch brand Patek Philippe, we sent her questions about it. She replied with the most personal retelling of how it all came to be.]
We went into the Patek Philippe store in Place Vendome and Caroline the manager saw me. She asked, “Dr. Belo, would you do me the honor of being a Patek Philippe ambassador?”
I was shocked; I only have one Patek that Hayden gave me 10 years ago. So I asked, “Me? Why me?”
“You know, we’ve been following you since your wedding,” Caroline replied.
Apparently, our wedding became famous among French people; some people really followed [it]. In fact, we’ve been to several stores and they’d tell us how they loved our wedding. They couldn’t believe a wedding like that happened in Palais Garnier – they’ve never heard of [something like that]. So they started hearing the name “Belo.”
READ: #aKHOandmyBELOved trends on Instagram as Dr. Vicki Belo and Hayden Kho get married in Paris
Anyway, I told Caroline “I don’t buy Patek because it’s too expensive for me.”
She told me it didn’t matter. That they were looking for self-made women “because we’re launching a new watch for females. And our vision of the females wearing Patek is somebody who’s self-made, who’s successful in her field, who doesn’t have to call her husband to ask if she can buy a watch.”
She added, “and you perfectly fit the bill. You’re a doctor. We’re looking for successful people in every field.”
In the beginning, I was shocked because I’m not used to that, right? Imagine, out of the blue, you will be approached to become an ambassador for a global brand!
But it made me proud since I feel like I have done something worthy to be recognized by a prestigious luxury global brand like Patek.
They recently had a big event to launch their latest women’s line. It was a really exclusive event. I was flown to Milan along with 11 other women via a private plane.
They’re also very classy. They flew us to Milan, and then there’s a secret venue (Palazzo Serbelloni). But the important part was they were only going to concentrate on women, there were no men allowed. Even the press people were not in the party. This is really for women. They chose the women they invited at the party that embody the qualities of their brand.
They’re pushing the kind of woman who should have a Patek and that’s why you’re an ambassador. It’s not because you buy a lot of Patek — that’s not the case.
All the 12 ambassadors were from different countries – half were from Paris and the other half were from countries like Portugal, Romania, Lebanon.
I was able to make friends. It was such a nice group of girls. They were really carefully selected. We all got along. The conversation was really entertaining and educational —you learn about different countries and cultures. Parang feeling ko nga may best friend there was Ms. Romania. We call each other—Ms Romania, Ms Philippines, Ms Portugal. Kami ang friends.
It was just difficult for me because most of them speak several languages. Ako lang yata ang English. Sila they switch but for me, they all started speaking English. Kasi most of them, even if they’re from other countries, they speak French.
There was a lawyer, a banker, a bag designer, an architect. I was the doctor, and I was the only representative from the Philippines, and it really made me proud.
Part of being an ambassador, they’re asking me to fly back in January just to host a table at another event in Paris. It’s going to be at the Ritz. They’re going to have a big dinner to launch the watch again or to introduce it.
Every ambassador will have a table and then the ambassador will the host of the table. So you’re really a Patek representative. You really become an ambassador for Patek. They want me to represent their brand.
I love the fact that I get to put us on the global map by being at the forefront of what I do in beauty. I am really thankful to God that he saw all my efforts to make our country beautiful paved the way for us to be recognized.
It's not luck. I believe this is a blessing from God. I didn’t expect any of this. There were so many self-made women who can embody their brand and they chose me.
Being the only Filipina ambassador of Patek is really an honor. Being able to represent our country is my pride and joy, even more so for being recognized on my field by such an esteemed brand like them. — LA, GMA News
