NARAS-Gucci make Grammy watch deal

IT HAPPENED ON NEIL’S WATCH: Gucci and the Recording Academy have made a three-year deal that will result in the creation of a special-edition collection of Gucci Grammy watches and jewelry items designed by Creative Director Frida Giannini. Sounds awfully glitzy, but it’s for a good cause: proceeds will support a Grammy Museum program dedicated to the restoration and preservation of milestone recordings. Said Neil Portnow, hands behind his back to hide his brown-banded Timex: "We have great admiration for the important contribution Gucci has made to the restoration and preservation of cinema in recent years, and are naturally delighted that it has now chosen to extend those efforts into music through this new partnership… With the increasing intersection between music and fashion, we are proud to collaborate with one of the most iconic and philanthropic fashion houses of today." (9/15a)