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New York--Sir Richard Branson was among the guests present at New York City’s Lincoln Center earlier this month to celebrate the launch of the new Bulova Accutron watch that he helped to design. 

On the evening of Sept. 13, Bulova held at an event to unveil the prototype of the new “Bulova Accutron Sir Richard Branson Limited Edition Watch” (below).

The 46mm watch features a self-winding mechanical movement and a black engraved dial with a stylized representation of the globe. Surrounding the dial are the names of 24 destinations, each corresponding to one of the world’s two dozen time zones. By adjusting the city ring to the GMT hand, wearers can see the time in the selected city.

Bulova is making only 500 of these timepieces, which are scheduled for release in the fall of 2012 and will retail for $3,500.

Bulova announced the appointment of Virgin Group founder Branson as the brand ambassador for Bulova Accutron in March 2011. Branson, who also is known as a business pioneer, adventurer and humanitarian, is donating the proceeds from his work as brand ambassador to Virgin Unite, the nonprofit he founded in 2004 to tackle environmental and social problems worldwide.

Hamilton launched its new “Khaki UTC” line in June, which pays homage to the marine chronometers Hamilton was supplying in the 1940s that integrated sidereal time. Sidereal time measured time relative to the motion of the stars around the Earth, not the Sun.

The trio of watches in the Khaki UTC line feature a 42mm stainless steel case and antimagnetic Swiss GMT movement. The world’s 24 different time zones are displayed on the dial and are set manually via a pusher at 2 o’clock. They are represented by the three-letter airport codes, such as JFK and LAX, used by the International Air Transport Association.

The dial comes in a choice of black (above) or yellow “old paper,” and the watches retail for $1,295.

Malaysian actress and Richard Mille brand ambassador Michelle Yeoh (below, left) collaborated with the brand on the design of a limited-edition tourbillon watch for women. Only 18 of the timepieces will be made.

The 48mm “RM 051 Phoenix-Michelle Yeoh” watch (above, right) features the brand’s Caliber RM051 manual winding tourbillon movement and a 48-hour power reserve. The power reserve function is displayed via a printed red line on a moving disc located between 10 and 11 o’clock.

Yeoh is set to star in The Lady this fall, in which she plays Burma’s pro-democracy activist Aung San Sun Kyi.

Jaeger-LeCoultre took a turn on the red carpet earlier this month, when two of television’s top actors donned the brand’s watches for the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles.

Jon Hamm, who was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role in Mad Men, wore a “Grand Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931 U.S. edition” with a black alligator strap. The Office’s Steve Carell, who was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, wore the brand’s “Master Control” watch with a black alligator strap.

Scottish actor Gerard Butler is a new “friend” of Roger Dubuis, the watch brand announced recently. As the brand’s latest ambassador, Butler, who recently took a tour of the company’s facilities in Switzerland, will work to generate publicity about Roger Dubuis around the world.

Butler, seen above wearing the “Excalibur Skeleton Double Flying Tourbillon,” has starred in a wide range of films including 300 and P.S. I Love You.