In 1999 when French designers started the brand Freelook in Paris, their goal was to fill the void between luxury and fashion watches. The watches were sold at Galleries La Fayette (“The” department store in Paris). Influenced by the Paris runways and its fashionable environment, Freelook quickly became a favorite of many magazine editors and was and still is sported by celebrities and featured in several magazine editorials monthly. In 2003 Freelook was launched internationally at the Basel watch fair (the largest and most prestigious watch fair in the world) and was awarded the “prix d’excellence” by the AJA. In 2004 the company launched stateside selling to high-end retailers such as Fred Segal in Los Angeles, Henri Bendel in New York City and Jennifer Miller in the Hamptons.