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Watch Co. Claims Charlize A Two-Timer

Suit: Actress violated exclusive deal by wearing competitor merch

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Watch Co. Claims Charlize A Two-Timer

FEBRUARY 6--Charlize Theron has violated terms of a lucrative endorsement deal with a Swiss watch maker by wearing and advertising watches and jewelry made by competitiors like Dior and Montblanc, a new lawsuit alleges. In May 2005, the Oscar-winning actress signed an endorsement deal requiring her to only wear Raymond Weil watches in public. The agreement, which ran until the end of 2006, also forbade the 31-year-old star from endorsing or advertising watches or jewelry for any other firm, according to Weil's New York State Supreme Court complaint, which was filed yesterday against Theron and her film company. A copy of the lawsuit can be found below. But despite the deal's terms, Weil alleges, Theron has appeared in ads wearing Dior's 'faux canary diamond jewelry' and on a billboard wearing Montblanc jewelry. Additionally, the company claims, Theron was photographed wearing a Dior watch at a March 2006 press conference in Texas. And while the agreement prohibits her 'from appearing in any advertisement for any jewelry, even for charity,' Theron 'appeared wearing a necklace in an advertisement benefiting an AIDS charity, violating the agreement, from February 2006 to December 2006.' Weil's complaint, which does not specify monetary damages, notes that the endorsement deal provides for 'substantial penalties' in the event of a contractual breach. While the complaint does not disclose what Raymond Weil paid Theron, she reportedly gets between $3-5 million for such endorsements. (7 pages)