CONQUERING THE EAST!

At the last Dubai Watch Week IWC introduced a specially designed timepiece for Middle Eastern collectors, with the tourbillon in the spotlight.

The Portugieser collection by IWC, created in the 1930s, was a response to a specific request from two Portuguese merchants, and used movements from hunter-case watches with the calibre 74 and 98. For collectors in the Middle East, the watchmakers from Schaffhouse unveiled the Portugieser Tourbillon Middle East Special Edition at the last Dubai Watch Week, in partnership with the Seddiqi family, fervent supporters of the brand.

This limited edition features a visually very attractive dial in a deep emerald green colour and a one-minute flying tourbillon at 9 o’clock. The Portugieser Tourbillon Middle East Special Edition has a 43mm-wide case, together with a black alligator leather strap. At its heart is nestling the in-house calibre 98900, which is hand-wound and has a power reserve of almost 54 hours. IWC has designed a watch that is both elegant and impressive.

The pink gold on the hour and minute hands, and the power reserve, echo the gold on the Roman numeral indices set around the railroad on the dial. The dual tones, with pink gold on the dial elements and steel for the case, reflect the harmonious blend of materials used by IWC in this collectors’ edition. Lastly, the Portugieser Tourbillon Middle East Special Edition comes with the brand’s signature element: a variable inertia balance, which can be seen through the sapphire crystal caseback. As a proof of unique skills, this ultra-limited edition will be available to just 25 collectors, and only in shops in the Middle East region.

Price on request

By Isabelle Guignet

HIGH-TECH DIVING

For the 50^th anniversary of the Aquatimer collection, IWC has unveiled the first diving watch with a case made from Ceratanium in a limited edition.

To celebrate the golden jubilee of Aquatimer, IWC has chosen not to dive back into the history of the collection, but to provide a modern take on its diving watch with a limited edition of 50 pieces. The Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month “50 Years of Aquatimer” Edition stands out through the original design of its impressive 49mm Ceratanium-machined case. Ceratanium is a titanium and ceramic alloy. The result? It has the ideal properties of both elements. It is as robust and resistant to scratching as ceramics and it is as light and unbreakable as titanium. This high-tech material is also designed to provide a high level of rust resistance. Ceratanium is attractive for its aesthetic features, too. After being consolidated in a kiln, it takes on a highly original deep black colour.

The Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month has not left behind its aquatic origins and really is a tool for divers. The timepiece is watertight down to 100 metres, and its revolving internal bezel gives information about the duration of the dive.

Price: CHF50,000

By Dan Diaconu

HARMONIOUS DESIGN

Boasting a balanced design integrating mechanical complications, this timepiece has all the elements that embody the creative spirit of brilliant Leonardo da Vinci.

Of all the Da Vinci models, the Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph would certainly have been the watch that appealed most to the Italian mastermind who lends his name to the collection. In order to accommodate the classic tourbillon, chronograph and retrograde date features on a single dial, IWC watchmakers designed a new 89900 automatic movement and ensconced it in an elegant red gold case. This distinctive calibre has a sophisticated tourbillon stop system allowing the watch to be set to the exact second. Although this timepiece includes a number of complications, discerning pallet and escape wheel design and Diamond Shell Technology still guarantee a 68-hour power reserve when fully wound.

With a flyback chronograph positioned at 12 o’clock, the savvy layout of watch face features make for an easy read, even when it’s 11:59! The central chronometer hand provides the time to the split second and the retrograde date display hand arcs from the 1st to the 31st, automatically jumping back to the 1st of the month after reaching the 31st of the previous month. Simply use the crown to set this beautiful timepiece.

The 44mm diameter Da Vinci Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph is available with a dark brown alligator strap by Santoni and folding clasp closure.

Price: 112,000 €

By Dan Diaconu

HOMAGE TO THE PAST

Almost 70 years after the first Mark II model, the watchmaker from Schaffhausen brings this iconic pilot’s watch up to date with a stylistically simple, limited edition with a self-winding mechanism.

In 1948, in the IWC workshops in Schaffhausen, a timepiece was produced for air-force pilots, mainly from the Royal Air Force, and simply named the Mark XI Pilot’s Watch. It was still being made in the early 1980s, and was then redesigned in 1994 to make a model aimed more at the general public, the Mark XII Pilot’s Watch. This year, almost 70 years later, IWC is paying homage to this legendary watch with an edition limited to 1,948 pieces: the Mark XVIII Edition Pilot’s Watch “Tribute to Mark XI”. A long, complex name for a timepiece that is not complicated at all.

The Mark XVIII Edition Pilot’s Watch “Tribute to Mark XI“ is above all a watch with a simple design, a rather traditional look and a reasonable size, adapted to male and female wrists alike.

The steel case is 40mm wide and 10.8mm thick; it is equipped with a soft iron inner case, protecting the mechanism from magnetic fields and sudden depressurisation. The mechanism itself is the calibre 35111, an automatic movement running at 28,800 vibrations an hour and providing 42 hours of autonomy.

The black dial on this new watch made by IWC features the famous yellow cross made up of four rectangles coated in sand-coloured luminous material and placed on the cardinal points. The beige colour is echoed on the central hour and minute hands. The Arabic numerals around the hour rim, as well as the minute track running along the chapter ring, are coloured white.

Price on request.

By Sharmila Bertin

TICKING SHARK

Because the company cares about the marine environment, IWC continues to raise awareness through its timepieces and with this diving watch designed for underwater exploration in particular.

On a personal note, sharks have fascinated me since the age of 7. In fact, I can name nearly every species from memory. But, until I started doing some in-depth research on Michael Muller for this IWC article, I wasn’t even aware that he was known for his celebrity portraits of actors, musicians and athletes long before garnering acclaim as one of today’s premier underwater photographers. To me, Michael Muller was above all an American shark whisperer, born in 1970, who shunned the cage in favour of his camera, capturing hammerhead sharks and whales in his lens and putting the primary focus on great whites.

Mislabelled as terrifying monsters since the original Jaws in 1975, these huge sharks have unfortunately now fallen victim to overfishing. Among other parts, their fins are quite sought-after and the complete democratization of mass commercial fishing has reduced their food supply considerably. As protecting our oceans is one of the primary IWC missions, it was a natural choice to create the Aquatimer Chronograph Edition “Sharks” diving watch. Available in a limited edition of 500, each timepiece also comes with a signed copy of Michael Muller’s book entitled Sharks, packaged in a rusted metal cage replica.

As its name suggests, the Aquatimer Chronograph Edition “Sharks” is a diving chronograph that’s water-resistant to 30 bars, or 300 meters in depth, as substantiated by its robust 44mm diameter stainless steel case and double internal/external bezel for tracking dive time. Also in stainless steel, the case back features a medallion with an engraving of a school of hammerhead sharks.

A luminescent steel grey dial sports a large chapter ring with the renowned rotating internal bezel, luminescent elements displaying the dive time and must-have triangular marker. Two large luminescent sword hands sweep from the centre to display hours and minutes, the watch face also featuring markers and minute tracking. Elapsed seconds are shown in a black counter at 6 o’clock and the date is displayed at 3 o’clock. Sporting a discreet arrow tip, the central second hand displays seconds whilst a minute counter at 12 o’clock displays minutes.

The display features and functions of the Aquatimer Chronograph Edition “Sharks” are powered by the proprietary IWC 89365 calibre and the chronograph features flyback, automatic winding and 68-hour power reserve.

Price available upon request

By Sharmila Bertin

Introducing the IWC Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph Edition “Boesch”

This summer will see a profusion of boats parade on the water including super-stylish yachts from Swiss boat builder Boesch’s workshops. IWC has joined forces with the famous manufacturer to unveil a new limited edition (150 available) exclusively available in Switzerland: Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph Edition “Boesch”.

The watch dial features a premium material that adorns Boesch’s famous boats: mahogany. Two silver leaf-shape hands in the centre track the hours and minutes whilst the seconds appear in a blue counter at 6. The chronograph hours and minutes are in a single counter at 12 and the date display is at 3.

The time, chronograph and date functions are brought to life by an in-house self-winding calibre. The movement provides a 68-hour power reserve from inside the 43.5mm steel case.

Price on request

By Sharmila Bertin

IWC – Montre d’Aviateur Automatique 36
Pilot watches have an instantly recognisable design: large size, big Arabic numerals, chunky hands, protruding crown and minimalist dial. Although highly popular with watch enthusiasts, some criticise the case size and depth for comfort or design reasons.
To put a smile on these clients’ faces, IWC has designed a smaller and slimmer Pilot’s Watch Automatic 36 which, as the name suggests, has a 36mm steel case. The self-winding 3511 calibre powers the time and date functions along with the 42-hour power reserve.
The dial comes in three colours: silver, slate and blue. The central disc bearing the black and white Arabic numerals and luminescent hour, minute and seconds hands stands slightly above the minute track. A black-on-white date display appears at 3 o’ clock.
Price upon request.
By Sharmila Bertin

Over 75 years ago in 1940, IWC unveiled its large 52 T.S.C calibre observer’s watch (Tirette Seconde Centrale) designed for the military. The design and sheer size of the piece inspired the Schaffhausen brand to produce two versions of the Big Pilot’s Heritage Watch. The pair come in a 55 or 48mm sandblasted titanium case fuelled by a manual wind movement: the XXL model has a 98300 calibre and the supercharged 59215 calibre provides a 192-hour power reserve on the “small” version. The black dial on this limited edition (1000 available) features markers (minute track, Arabic hour numerals, triangular marker at 12) in beige Super-LumiNova®. Unlike its big brother, it also features the date and power reserve indicator in addition to the hours and minutes in the centre tracked by blue propeller-shaped hands and the small seconds at 6. Price upon request. Sharmila Bertin

“If you please, draw me a sheep!” The blonde hero and the poetic humanist masterpiece written in 1943 by the French writer and aviator have been immortalised by the author’s posthumous youth charity, FASEF. The watchmaker IWC has been sponsoring the charity for years by designing special editions just like this 44mm pilot’s watch. The minute (at 12), hour (6) and small seconds (at 9) counters weave together in the heart of the midnight blue dial. The overlapping circles are dominated by the eye-catching jumping star display for the day of the week: seven stars representing the seven planets Le Petit Prince visits on his journey whose names are listed on the back of the steel case. A large vertical date display lies at 3 o’ clock. The hours and minutes are presented as large numerals and indices beneath leaf-shape luminescent hands brought to life by a self-winding movement. Price: 12,100CHF

To celebrate the 75^th anniversary of the jewel in the Schaffhausen (North Switzerland) watchmaker’s crown, the Portugaise has a new self-winding movement (calibre 52850) with an impressive power reserve (168 hours/7 days) and an exclusive complication: the annual calendar. The star of the show (American-style display) presents the month, date and day in three white windows at 12 o’ clock on the dial. Two leaf-shaped hands spring from the centre to tell the time on applied hour numerals and the minute track; the small seconds counter lies at 9 o’ clock whilst the power reserve indicator stands at 3 o’ clock. There are two versions of the watch available: the 44.2mm case comes in steel or rose gold with a silver-tone or midnight blue guilloché sunburst dial (on the steel model only). Price upon request