Fake IWC Automatic Watches, Cheap IWC Automatic Replica

IWC Portuguese Chrono-Automatic Boris Becker (IW3714-30)

The IWC Portuguese Chrono-Automatic Boris Becker (IW3714-30) watch is very pretty but the first time I wore it the second hand broke off in the face of the watch.

---- [Rating: 5 / 5 stars]

Review by Aaron Krejci, From United States Joshua Tree

IWC Portuguese Hand-Wound Eight Days (IW5102-04)

excellent to do business with

---- [Rating: 5 / 5 stars]

Review by Kathlarina B, From Qatar Doha

IWC Da Vinci Chronograph Platinum (IW3764-05)

ThisIWC Da Vinci watch is so beautiful and solid. I love how it does not roll around my wrist and when I am outside it sparkles so brightly. Just Gorgeous! The compliments are endless too.

---- [Rating: 5 / 5 stars]

Review by Robert and Trudy Chambers, From United States Ferriday

The Ingenieur Automatic Edition "Tribute to Nico Rosberg" pays tribute to one of IWC's main ambassadors: Formula 1 driver Nico Rosberg.
This one-of-a-kind timepiece features a world's first in the watchmaking industry: its case is made of solid boron carbide, an innovative material almost as hard as a diamond and as light as aluminium. The rest of the timepiece - design of the case, carbon fiber dial, indexes - is not different from what we know of the Ingenieur Automatic classic models. The screws in the bezel and crown are made of black zirconium oxide.

IWC's traditional prowess in precision technology is embodied by this unique piece's in-house 80110-calibre, which has an integrated shock-absorption system and the famous Pellaton automatic winding system, fitted with a blackened rotor visible through the see-through sapphire-glass back.

The watch is secured to the wrist with a rugged, skin-friendly rubber strap. With the black Dinamica® inlay, which is set off with yellow quilted stitching, the watch features the same innovative microfibre used by Mercedes-AMG to pad the steering wheel, seat upholstery and headliner in the new Mercedes-AMG GT.

A king who rules over a fictitious realm, a businessman who believes he owns the stars, a geographer who never leaves his desk: having abandoned his own tiny asteroid in search of a friend, the little prince meets various inhabitants of other planets who lead strange lives. IWC Schaffhausen has taken this journey through the universe from Antoine de Saint-Exuperys "The Little Prince" as a reason to crown the new Pilot's Watch Double Chronograph Edition "Le Petit Prince" (Ref. IW371807) with an enchanting mechanism.

The midnight blue dial with its characteristic cockpit design has a surprising feature: a jumping star display is arranged inside the faint line of the circle at its centre. Each day of the week, this captivating day display lights up a different star in glittering gold. However, the change does not take place in any particular order: the gleaming golden star appears appears to jump at random between the seven different positions on the dial. The stars punched out on the dial symbolize the planets visited by the little prince. They are also engraved in the same order on the back of the watch, to - gether with the name of their inhabitants: the king, the vain man, the drunkard, the businessman, the lamplighter, the geographer and finally the rose. We also find a playful indication of where the little boy with the wheaten hair happens to be at the moment, as well as a portrait of the prince himself, on the reverse side of the case. Incidentally, the owner of the watch decides which star on the dial is illuminated on which day of the week by using the crown to make the golden star jump to another position.

The chronograph split-seconds hand complication is now licensed to fly in the Pilot's Watch special edition "Le Petit Prince". Also known as a double chronograph, this mechanism has two stopwatch seconds hands mounted one on top of the other which allow the owner to reliably record intermediate times, even withinthe same minute. The Pilot's Watch Double Chronograph Edition "Le Petit Prince" is a fascinating variant that combines all the features of a watch designed for flying with an additional poetic element. Its functions include automatic winding, the time of day, date, weekday in the form of a jumping star display, small hacking seconds, chronograph with aggregate time recording up to 12 hours, split-secondsfunction, sapphire glass with antireflective coating on both sides which is secured against drops in pressure, as well as the soft-iron inner case found in IWC's Pilot's Watches as protection against magnetic fields. The midnight blue dial underscores the watch's sporty yet elegant character while the Super-LumiNova®* coating on the hands and appliquesguarantees excellent legibility, even in the dark. The engraving on the case back makes it clear that only 1,000 examples of the watch will be made. The Pilot's Watch Double Chronograph Edition "Le Petit Prince" is supplied with a matte brown calfskin strap with decorative beige stitching.

In a few days, at the SIHH, IWC will present several new Portuguese watches. Last week we introduced the Annual Calendar. Today we are presenting the Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph.

The most important design change in the new Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph is immediately obvious: the case diameter has been reduced from 45.4 to 43.5 millimetres. IWC has listened to many potential buyers who have expressed the wish for a slightly smaller version of the sportiest model in the Portuguese watch line, one more suitable for a slim wrist. Pleasant to wear and exceptionally rugged, the rubber strap complements the watch's character: it is slim and sporty.

The robust, IWC-manufactured 89361-chronograph calibre with flyback function and analogue display of stop times longer than a minute on a subdial makes the Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph, which is water-resistant to 6 bar, an ideal sailing companion. The signal red seconds hand and the flange with its quarter-second scale for measuring short stop times, together with luminescent hands and indices are an indication of the watch's sporting qualities. The screw-in crown, protective shoulders and the chronograph push-buttons reminiscent of the bitts found on the decks of sailing ships underscore the special status of the Yacht Club Chronograph in the watch family. Despite its unusual role, the watch remains a dyed-in-the-wool Portuguese. The clearly structured dial with its classic railway-track-style chapter ring, the plain, simple Arabic numerals and slim, leaf-shaped feuille hands: the latest model borrows all these style-defining elements from the original Portuguese of 1939.

The model in the 18-carat red gold case (Ref. IW390501) is now available with a silver-plated dial. The stainless-steel chronograph (Ref. IW390502) also with a silver-plated dial looks no different than its predecessor. In the stainlesssteel version (Ref. IW390503) the slate-coloured dial has been decorated with a sun-pattern finish and, thanks to the black flange - a slightly higher rim - has a colour that sets it apart. Modest modifications to the design have given the chronograph a more luxurious and harmonious appearance.
 

"Today's ground-breaking ceremony is about more than just marking the start of construction for the new production facility," comments IWC CEO Georges Kern. "It is a commitment to Schaffhausen as the home of IWC and to attractive workingconditions for our employees. It is also testament to the positive work being done by both the city and the Cantonof Schaffhausen to create the ideal conditions for IWC to continue producing unique timepieces."

With 800 employees at its headquarters, IWC Schaffhausen is not only one of the most important employers in the region, but is an ambassador for the city's image across the globe.

Upon completion of the new building in October 2016, IWC will relocate the case and parts manufacturing departments along with the movement assembly to the Merishausertal. State-of-the-art workstations will be provided for a total of 250 employees across a floor space of 13,000 square metres, while the building's capacity allows for up to 400 workstations.

The large expanses of green and the architecture of the two-storey flat-roofed construction ensure that the staggered building complex blends seamlessly into the topography of the Merishausertal. The new manufacturing centre is not just the product of IWC's philosophy and its dedication to climate protection and ecological responsibility.An example of this is the triple-insulated glass facade which ensures that the interioris flooded with light.

"Alongside water heat recycling and heat recovery ventilation systems, we also use groundwater heating and cooling methods, and it goes without saying that our insulation measures meet the Minergie standard", said George Kern. "We will also be able to cover a significant share of our energy requirements with the photovoltaic system that is planned to cover a large section of the flat roof." Lighting in the building and the surrounding area will be equipped with LED technologyand controlled by motion sensors. Also planned is an intelligent waste and recycling management system to facilitate the reuse of waste from the production process. IWC has been a certified carbon-neutral company since 2007, and in line with this commitment will also provide its employees with a smart fortwo electric car. A final progressive initiative comes in the form of charging stations for the car and for e-bikes.

Created more than 70 years ago, the Portuguese Collection is a firm favourite amongst watch lovers, who appreciate its sheer size, precision and complex mechanics.

The tradition behind the IWC Portuguese family, created more than 70 years ago, stretches back to the precision nautical instruments once used by navigators to discover the world. Over half a millennium later, in the late 1930s, two Portuguese businessmen working in the watch sector visited the Schaffhausen factory and commissioned wrist watches to match the accuracy of a marine chronometer. The first Portuguese, in 1939, came fitted with a pocket watch movement.

The new Portuguese Chronograph Classic (Ref. 3904) brings exceptional elegance and classically inspired design to this popular collection, though the redesigned watch has a surprisingly independent look. The Chronograph preserves the identity and cultural heritage of the 1930s legendary originals.
The timepiece displays appliqued Arabic numerals, a railway-track-style chapter ring and slender feuille hands. An arched-edge front glass makes this slim beauty's 42-millimetre diameter seem smaller than it is. The traditional type of glass used admirably sets off the language of form, lending a well-balanced and classical impression.
The IWC-manufactured 89361 calibre, was developed specifically to record time spans of up to 12 hours on a subdial and the result is as bold and easy to read as a clock face. The sapphire-glass back reveals the 89361 calibre and the rotor, resplendent in Geneva stripes.
The Portuguese Chronograph Classic is available in 18-carat red gold or stainless steel, both with silver-plated or slate-coloured dial.
It is fitted with superb leather straps from the House of Santoni, an Italian family-owned firm that specializes in nuanced dyeing of leather. Santoni's elegant leather products epitomize masterly craftsmanship and the highest quality.
 

In 2013, Antoine de Saint-Exupery's novella "The Little Prince" celebrates its 70th anniversary. On this occasion, IWC - partner of the charitable Antoine de Saint-Exupery Youth Foundation - is releasing the Pilot's Watch Mark XVII Edition "Le Petit Prince" in stainless steel, limited to 1,000 watches. In both form and function, the Pilot's Watch Mark XVII Edition" Le Petit Prince" closely follows the classic Pilot's Watches from IWC. Its precision, reliability and authentic cockpit-style design embodies their fundamental values.  Like cockpit instrumentation, the midnight blue dial is reduced to essentials, and legibility is the priority. IWC's designers have modified the date window to make it look more like a board instrument, with its vertically arranged numerals giving the impression of an altimeter. The current date is indicated by a triangle.  A poetic detail evokes the little prince is the counterpoise in the form of a small star at the rear end of the seconds hand. It is a reminder that the boy was the prince of a minuscule star before he started to explore the earth. The case back is decorated with an engraving that shows the little prince with his fluttering scarf standing on a tiny asteroid. The Pilot's Watch Mark XVII Edition "Le Petit Prince" is water-resistant to 6 bar, is powered by an automatic 30110-calibremovement and has a 42-hour power reserve. 
In terms of precision and robustness, the Mark XVII meets the full schedule of specifications for professional Pilot's Watches from Schaffhausen. With its soft iron inner case for protection against magnetic fields and a front glass secured against sudden drops in pressure, the Mark XVII takes up a tradition established by its historical forebear, the Mark 11 of the 1940s.   Part of the proceeds from sales of the special editions Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition "Le Petit Prince" and the Pilot's Watch Mark XVII Edition "Le Petit Prince" will go to the Antoine de Saint-Exupery Youth Foundation to support its worldwide commitment against illiteracy. Quite in keeping with the thinking of Antoine de Saint-Exupery, who once wrote: "Your task is not to foresee the future, but to enable it."
 

The new boutique flaunts large windows that cast light on the various watch families on display. Characteristic dark woodwork, chrome and leather flawlessly complement the timepieces. Warm shades invite boutique visitors to enter and discover the fascinating world of the heritage and history of IWC Schaffhausen's timepieces. Objects such as the miniature Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow model car decorate the boutique and instil a masculine and inviting mood. The refurbished boutique also features a charming lounge - the perfect space in which visitors can relax. The upgraded boutique features a novel window display, fashioned to depict the unique worlds of each IWC Schaffhausen watch family by exciting moving images. The outstanding window animation honours the Ingenieur family, relaunched this year, especially in light of the new partnership struck with the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team. 
Boutique visitors will be treated to a wide range of limited editions solely available at IWC boutiques.  Another noteworthy aspect of the boutique is the space dedicated to IWC's most complicated timepieces; the Portuguese Siderale Scafusia. The Siderale is the first watch from IWC to feature a patented constant-force tourbillion together with many other complications and individually calculated astronomical displays. Made to order and combining multiple functions such as sidereal time, a perpetual calendar and a customized celestial chart, every eye-catching Siderale watch is unmistakably unique, like every IWC timepiece. Karoline Huber, Brand Director IWC Middle East & India commented: "Our refurbished boutique in The Dubai Mall is very special to us. It not only reflects our unique identity and provides an exceptional customer experience, but also marks our commitment to the region. We are looking forward to welcoming visitors to our boutique and inviting them to experience IWC's spirit and philosophy."

The IWC exhibition at Selfridges celebrates the completelyremodelled 2013 IWC Ingenieur watch collection, as well as the new partnership with the MERCEDES AMG PETRONASFormula One™ Team. Transforming the Wonder Room's concept store into a virtual wind tunnel, a first in the UK within a department store, IWC Schaffhausen is taking consumers on a journey which offers an exclusive "behind the scenes" glimpse into the synergies between watches and the automotive sector.

"The engineers who work within our two companies have many things in common", comments IWC CEO Georges Kern on the global partnership with the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team. "They share a passion for precision technology and innovation. They are the heroesbehind the scenes: their craftsmanship and expertise with high technology lay the foundations for our success. Their pioneering spirit and know-how push the boundaries of mechanical engineering and continuously redefine the achievements of precision technology. And together we have a name for this untiring quest for perfection: perfor­mance engineering."

Team Principal of the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS For­mula One™ Team Ross Brawn confirms these common values: "Both IWC Schaffhausen and MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS place great importance on precision engineer­ing. Our partnership reflects this and highlights our shared commitment to pushing boundaries - both in motor racing and watchmaking."

Exclusive exhibition launch

At today's launch of the exhibition, attended by approxi­mately 100 members of the UK press, MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team driver Lewis Hamilton and Team Principal Ross Brawn were given the full "customer experience" and were quick to try out the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ simulator show car, which allows visitors to immerse themselves in the dynamic world of racing. Lewis Hamilton is a declared aficionado of fine watchmaking and clearly recognizes the similarities betweenhis profession and the watches made by IWC Schaffhausen:"I love wristwatches, and it seems to me that those made by IWC have a lot in common with FORMULA ONE drivers: they're unique, high-performance watches and are among the best in their field."

The IWC pop-up exhibition will be in Selfridges' Wonder Room until 7 July 2013. For the new Ingenieur collection, IWC's design engineers took their inspiration from FOR­MULA ONE racing. Materials typically used in motorsport, such as carbon fibre, ceramic and titanium, are the hall­marks of a new design line in the Ingenieur watch family. The technologically demanding workmanship confirms the reputation of IWC Schaffhausen as a company that has been manufacturing high-quality timepieces for more than 140 years.

IWC Schaffhausen

With a clear focus on technology and development, the Swiss watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen has been producing timepieces of lasting value since 1868. The com­pany has gained an international reputation based on a passion for innovative solutions and technical ingenuity. One of the world's leading brands in the luxury watch segment, IWC crafts masterpieces of haute horlogerie at their finest, combining supreme precision with exclusive design.

Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team
The MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team competes in the FIA Formula One World Championship™ and is based at the team's Operations Centre in Brackley, Northamptonshire, UK. The engines for the team's cars are provided by Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrainsbased in Brixworth, Northamptonshire.

This unique on-the-water boutique is the first one to launch globally for IWC and has set sail in Asia, servicing cruises out of Singapore and Shanghai, China. "Mariner of the Seas" forms part of the second generation of Voyager- class vessels focusing on relaxing getaways with luxurious accommodations and fine cuisine. Their unparalleled understanding of international travellers and luxury brands enables staff to keep pace with passengers' needs and aspirations, making for a perfect premier shopping destin- ation.

Classic elegance

The boutique fully embodies IWC's well-known philosophy associated with engineering and innovation. Dark and white wood, glass, leather and polished stainless steel are a few of the usual components seen throughout the boutique. Combined together these elements intricately underline the brand's technical aspirations and create an atmos- phere that is both elegant and inviting.

Exciting milestone

"We are pleased to announce the first IWC boutique to launch on a cruise ship and we look forward to welcoming guests from around the globe to experience this exciting milestone along with IWC," says IWC CEO Georges Kern. The design concept of the new, approximately 60-square-metre boutique offers all six IWC watch fam- ilies along with the promise of an exceptionally high quality of service that will guarantee an extraordinary shopping experience for all guests.

I recently had a horological dream come true. Not only do I have the honor of owning a Big Pilot - in fact, the early "slow-beat" Reference 5002 - but I have now added the first perpetual calendar watch to my ticking collection.
 

Lightweight multifunctionality
When I took the 46.2 millimeter stainless steel Reference 5026-20 IWC Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar "Middle East" made for Dubai-based Seddiqi & Sons out of its package and put it on my wrist, the weight took me by surprise: it is not as heavy as the regular Big Pilot model. This is due to the lower amount of "heavy metal" in this model. While the original Big Pilot is fitted not only with a solid stainless steel case back, but also a soft iron cage to protect the movement from extreme magnetic fields, Reference 5026 has a transparent case back with a wonderful view of the movement that legendary watchmaker Kurt Klaus originally presented to the IWC management in 1985. However, this updated version is outfitted with Caliber 51612, which has an additional power reserve of seven days and a double moon phase indicator displaying both the northern and southern hemispheres added to the 26-year-old movement. IWC actually claims that this movement offers the most accurate moon phase display in existence.
 

Long lasting
This movement boasts a pre-programmed perpetual calendar function that will need no regulation for the next 522 years. On top of that, every single function (day, date, month, year and moon phase indicator) is operated via the winding crown. No extra pushers are to be found on this watch, and no stylus tool is needed. I believe this makes the movement quite unique as most other watches offering perpetual calendar functions have regulating pushers recessed into the side of the case.
Missing AM/PM indicator
In the week or so I have worn the watch, its precision has been very impressive. Of course, when wearing it 24-7, the power reserve remains full and I have not yet worn it with a low power reserve, which could perhaps affect the precision. One crucial thing is missing on the watch though: an AM/PM indicator.
When I received the watch, it was actually set to the right date, but I did not know if it was showing 2:00 AM or PM. The watch was sent from the actual watch store the limited edition watch was dedicated to, which means there should have been an expected time difference calculated between Dubai and Copenhagen, where I am located.
 

I did not know if Seddiqi & Sons had actually set the time correctly prior to shipping; if they had, then the watch should be on correct time plus two hours. This meant that I had to wait for the date to change before I knew if it was set correctly. You cannot manually adjust the date backward. If you want to adjust it forward, the only procedure left to you is to pull out the crown, which stops the movement thanks to a hacking function, and waiting for the right date to appear before activating the movement again. Alternatively, one can bring it to the local IWC-authorized watchmaker, who should be able to readjust the calendar functions.
A pusher system could, of course, easily regulate this, but I still appreciate that the whole movement is controlled via the winding crown.
Reference 5026-20, the Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar "Middle East," was produced in an edition of 70 pieces in 2010 and had a price of approximately 22,000 euros. This limited-edition model is long since sold out.
 

WORLDTEMPUS - 2 September 2011
With the brand-new Siderale Scafusia, it can well be said that IWC is celebrating the phenomenon of time.
This company generally known for its ultra-reliable pilot-style chronographs yesterday introduced its most complicated timepiece to date. Not only did IWC's astute engineering team complete the mechanics within the extraordinary space of ten years, but the company wisely involved a cerebral research professor of astrophysics and cosmology to provide a soul for the mechanically beating - and jumping - heart of this masterpiece.
Professor Ben Moore is the savant in question. Occupying the same chair at the University of Zurich's Institute for Theoretical Physics that Albert Einstein did in the early 1900s, this modern-day explorer of time and space provided the astronomical knowledge needed to complete the personalized celestial charts found on the backside of the Siderale Scafusia. This "soul" side of the watch also includes scales encircling the star charts providing information on the date and year (perpetual calendar), the "star" (sidereal) time that is also shown on the front of the watch within a small subdial fittingly found right at 12 o'clock as well as daylight savings time. Moore brought more to the table than just his tables: he adds a quirky theoretical element that not only explains the raison d'être of sidereal time - astronomers need to use it in their work - but also combines the studies of astronomy, cosmology and astrophysics to form very tangible questions that lurk in the back of nearly every human being's mind: where did we come from and where are we going?
Heart and soul
If the sidereal elements are the Siderale Scafusia's soul, then its exceptional caged escapement in the form of a tourbillon is certainly its beating heart. The original premise of this timepiece at its conception in 2001, a brand-new constant force tourbillon dominates the left side of the timepiece's dial. Its central element is an unusually large 13 mm balance wheel, making it awfully stable, which fits neatly into the 15.8 mm tourbillon cage. The remontoir providing constant force comprises a couple of extra parts, none of which are the usual simple spring found in a remontoir. Here, two bridges, a lever, and an unusual wheel IWC calls the "stop wheel" perform the service.
Perhaps most eye-catching of all, however, is the jumping - almost deadbeat - motion of the entire cage and its contents, which also move the small second hand attached to the top of the cage's bridge. This jumping motion is really a "stop and go" because the remontoir takes the escapement and tourbillon out of the direct flow of energy. The energy gets stored up in the remontoir temporarily and is released precisely once a second. This keeps the energy constant and provides the source of the attractive motion of the cage.
Additionally, the constant force tourbillon contains two components that have never been used in this fashion before. Created by Microworks of Germany, which is the commercial outlet of the KIT Forschungszentrum of Karlsruhe, a cam used in the constant force assembly is made of LIGA-processed nickel-cobalt. Perhaps even more impressive, the pallet lever and fork of the escapement is created as one piece in LIGA hard gold.
"We need very precisely manufactured components for this," said Thomas Gäumann, IWC's R&D department head for movements. "For this reason we utilize two components created by the x-ray LIGA process, which can be manufactured within tolerances of just a few thousandths of a millimeter."

Twilight time
In addition to the time, sidereal time, star chart and perpetual calendar, this timepiece also displays the times of sunrise, sunset, and twilight - the latter an important feature for astronomers, and here depicted by the celestial chart changing color along with the real-time changes happening in the sky. This is accomplished with the use of colored, transparent disks.
A classic IWC Portuguese from the front, it measures a very wearable 46 mm in diameter. Product group manager Mario Klein explained that the case height of 17.5 mm was the deliberate result of bringing the Siderale Scafusia's balled complication down to a wearable critical mass. A feat of engineering, the Siderale Scafusia also boasts easy operation of all displays using the crown and two recessed pushers. Hand-wound Caliber 94900 boasts 96 hours (4 days) of power reserve, during the first two of which Klein guarantees constant force.
At a price of 750,000 Swiss francs, board of director spokesman Hannes Pantli only expects to sell these masterpieces to dedicated collectors, and they will only be completed upon order. Once the connoisseur in question has ordered his or her very own Siderale Scafusia, he or she can expect to wait a full year to receive it. However, upon receiving it, it will not only be personally handed over by Pantli, but it will also have been customized to the individual wishes of the client, who can choose from more than 200 design options.
With the introduction of the Siderale Scafusia, IWC celebrates both its powerful place within the watch industry and life itself. As astrophysicist Moore explains, astronomy has shown that we came from nothing billions of years ago and a billion years from now we will return right to nothing. The Siderale Scafusia and Moore therefore project one single message: Carpe Diem.

1960 Born into a watchmaking family, Robert spends hours observing his father work at his watchmaker's bench.
1975-1978 Studies at the French watchmaking school Ecole d'Horlogerie de Morteau and earns the CAP degree.
1987 Works as a watchmaker in the Greubel Horlogerie family shop in Alsace.
1986-1987 Pursues his watchmaking education at the renowned watchmaking school in Dreux, France and concentrates on complicated horology.
1987 Marries Outi from Finland
1987- 1990 Works as a prototypist at IWC, where he participates in the development of the Grand Complication, a key moment in his career.
1990 Joins Renaud & Papi SA (today's Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi SA) as a prototypist where he develops numerous projects in the field of complicated watchmaking. He later becomes joint managing director and shareholder in the company.
1992 Outi and Roberts' daughter Aina is born.
1999 Decides to leave Renaud & Papi SA to pursue his watchmaking career independently.

1967 Born in St. Albans, a city in England where tens of thousands of Marine Chronometers were once produced.
1987 Passionate about all things mechanical, as is his father, he attends Hackney Technical College in London to study technical horology.
1987-1992 After a rich experience in restoring antique clocks and watches, he becomes head of the Watch Restoration department at Asprey's in London.
1988 He perfects his watchmaking knowledge in Switzerland at the WOSTEP watchmaking school in Neuchâtel.
1990 He follows a course on complicated watches and restoration of antique horology pieces.
1992 Moves to Switzerland to join Robert Greubel's team at Renaud & Papi SA.
He works on diverse complicated watchmaking movements such as Grandes Sonneries, Minute Repeaters, Carillons, Perpetual Calendars and Tourbillons.
1993 Marries Phoebe from England.
1997 Their first child Sophie is born.
1998 Their second child Edward is born.
1999 Leaves Renaud & Papi SA to pursue an independent watchmaking career.

By P. Coelho, M. Fritz and E. Bilal

ORDER NOW!

Passion, tradition, perfection and the highest levels of technical sophistication all this is represented by the name of IWC Schaffhausen. Its head office and principal production site in Schaffhausen are the result of one of the most interesting stories about the foundation of a company in the watchmaking industry.

Now you may read it in a sumptuously produced book with over 500 illustrations. A luxurious volume with outstanding photographs and a lively text, containing a wealth of background information and fascinating incidental facets, which will appeal not only to collectors and specialists but to all watch enthusiasts. And let yourself be carried away into an enthralling world of time penned by bestselling author Paulo Coelho exclusively for IWC and illustrated by the gifted drawing artist Enki Bilal.

After 130 days on the high seas, the Plastiki today sailed triumphantly into the port of Sydney. David de Rothschild and his crew, who had covered around 8000 nautical miles across the Pacific from San Francisco, were welcomed by an enthusiastic crowd. The watchmaking company IWC Schaffhausen as official partner was also highly delighted by the successful conclusion of the expedition dedicated to environmental protection. Members of the crew wore the Ingenieur Automatic Mission Earth Edition "Adventure Ecology" on their wrists during the voyage. A one-off watch in platinum will now be auctioned at www.theplastiki.com

"We are incredibly proud of David de Rothschild and the Adventure Ecology team, and overjoyed that he and his crew have tackled this adventurous voyage so successfully," enthused Georges Kern, CEO of the CO2-neutral watchmaking company IWC Schaffhausen, which supported the Plastiki as an official partner. De Rothschild, who, among other things, is breaking completely new ground with the 12-tonne catamaran Plastiki, is a lateral thinker and impassioned environmental pioneer. He put his vision of a society which regards waste as a resource into practice imaginatively by building the hull of the vessel from 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles, and even specified a high-tech fabric, a uniquely recyclable and until now relatively unexplored material, for the hull's super structure. The avant-garde Plastiki, with its solar panels, wind turbines and bicycle generators for producing electricity is an impressive demonstration of what is possible when you are prepared to think out of the box.

Tonnes of waste place a strain on the environment
The intelligent and solution-oriented approach of the adventurer and environmentalist also won over IWC Schaffhausen: "David is a pioneer and a passionate campaigner for an intact environment," says Georges Kern. "The Plastiki adventure is unique and extremely complex. There were countless challenges to be mastered, yet David never gives up and is a role model for our society." With the Plastiki expedition, David de Rothschild, his crew (Jo Royle, David Thomson, Olav Heyerdahl, Vern Moen, Graham Hill, Max Jourdan, Singeli Agnew, Luca Babini and Matthew Grey) and his Adventure Ecology organisation have drawn attention to the traces that mankind thoughtlessly leaves behind in nature. An estimated two billion plastic bottles were disposed of in the USA alone during the crossing from San Francisco to Sydney. According to a survey conducted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), four of every five bottles, that is to say around 27 million tonnes of plastic, still end up in household waste and cause lasting environmental pollution.

The aim of the spectacular Plastiki expedition was to awaken global awareness and encourage the world to beat waste by reducing, reusing, rethinking and ultimately refusing oneway disposable plastics such as styrene foam, plastic bags and plastic bottles.
Step by step towards the goal
"Seventy-five percent of plastic waste can be reduced through small changes and intelligent rethinking in our daily life," says David de Rothschild with conviction. "Refuse, re-use, recycle and rethink are the key words for the future." To champion this mission, this mastermind with his Adventure Ecology organisation will continue to follow unconventional paths in order to call upon individuals, enterprises and industry to eliminate the problem of waste by re-thinking it as a resource.

On its voyage across the Pacific, the Plastiki called at the Christmas Island or Kiritimati Atoll after over 40 days at sea, which was its first point of disembarkation. After an exuberant welcome with traditional music and dancing, the crew gave a talk on the subject of waste to a thousand high school graduates. This is a problem that is of special concern to the islanders. In co-operation with the community leaders, the Plastiki crew discussed some of the solutions being used locally to tackle the waste management issues facing these remote island nations. 

Adventure Ecology along with its foundation "Sculpt the Future" will as part of its Plastiki legacy initiate a project known as "The Plastiki Pod". "The Plastiki Pod" will receive a considerable boost from the auction of an exclusive Ingenieur Automatic Mission Earth Edition "Adventure Ecology" in platinum from IWC Schaffhausen. At the press conference folllowing his arrival, David de Rothschild gave the official starting signal for the auction. This exquisite one-of-a-kind watch is about to be put up for auction immediately on the expedition website at www.theplastiki.com. IWC will donate the entire proceeds to "Sculpt the Future" Foundation which will go onto benefit "The Plastiki Pod" project.

WORLDTEMPUS - 17 March 2010

When IWC invited the established watch press to Schaffhausen yesterday to introduce a new book, few of the guests were really prepared for what it was they were about to be introduced to; watch company catalogues are after all a dime a dozen.

Knowing Georges Kern's penchant for prominent artists, however, it might have been clear that this would be no ordinary project. In fact, it is probably safe to say there has never been anything like this before in the watch world. At the launch event staged at the manufactory located on the Rhine, Kern explained that the objective was to try to get a broader audience interested and educated. Thus, three years ago Kern and Manfred Fritz, IWC's "house journalist," a German newspaperman responsible for much of the company's founded written communiques, embarked upon a project that would end up being a "book in book" concept featuring six fictional short stories on the subject of time by the Brazilian bestselling author and illustrations by the Parisian cartoonist.

Coelho explained in his emotional way that he first said no to the book project when approached in 2007. However, the more he thought about it, the more the stories on the subject of time began to formulate in his head and he ended up agreeing. "I write my books out of passion, and this is the first for me based on this subject," he explained.
The three men collaborated on the book from a distance and without meeting for most of the three years it took to complete. Fritz's portion of the book constitutes a narrative history from a journalist's point of view, and he describes it as something "that should be fun to read."

Some of the six short stories that Coelho created for his fictional portion of the project are available as podcasts, otherwise fans will have to wait until the end of April to buy one of the 10,000 copies of the 536-page hardbound book being printed in a run of 10,000 copies in English, French, and German versions. Coelho's stories were written in his native Portuguese, thus his normal literary translators were utilized to render the works in the desired languages. IWC Schaffhausen. Engineering Time since 1868 will be available for 250 Swiss francs on the company's own website or through regular bookstores.

The manufacturer has treated the Portuguese Perpetual Calendar, its specialist for long calendar periods, to a gentle facelift and an extension to the model range: two new variants in red gold and two in white gold increase the variety of models on offer. Technically, there was nothing left to improve. This time machine with its perpetual calendar stands for sheer perfection.
It is the Portuguese watch which one might easily have imagined on the wrist of famous seafarers. Learned individuals with the necessary far-sightedness, spirit of discovery and a concrete vision of the future. Because the future is precisely the area of expertise of this particular time machine, which is as beguiling as it is technically impressive. The perpetual calendar, invented 25 years ago, lives on here in all its original complexity and genius - in conjunction with an IWC-manufactured large movement from the 50000-calibre family with a seven-day power reserve.
This is an ideal combination for a complicated watch with calendar indications displaying the date, day, month, year in four digits and perpetual moon phase. The watch displays advance completely autonomously, mechanically programmed and synchronized with one another. Save for a leap day correction that becomes necessary in February 2100, this continues uninterrupted and without any intervention on the part of the wearer, who simply needs to input the required kinetic energy via the highly efficient Pellaton winding system of the automatic movement when wearing the watch. According to the complicated Gregorian calendar, which always assures years of almost constant length, the leap day that would be due to occur is absent at the end of February in the year in question, 2100, and this will necessitate an adjustment by a watchmaker. It might thus be appropriate to ensure that one's grandson or great-grandson is aware of this fact. In that faroff year, incidentally, the century slide at the end of a long transmission chain will also be advanced by a couple of millimetres, and the numeral "21" for the next hundred years set in the display window in place of the currently indicated "20" to make the year display complete.

The beguiling new eternity in the form of the Portuguese Perpetual Calendar retains its two familiar faces: one model of this watch is equipped with a quasi-universal hemisphere lunar display (Ref. 5021), in which the miniature model of the Earth's satellite is pictured twice. Exactly as the phases of the moon appear when viewed from the northern or southern hemisphere - that is to say reversed. This distinctive optical feature has to do with the visual angle and the different point of observation. The number of days remaining until the next full moon can also be read precisely on a supplementary countdown scale in this model. The new Portuguese Perpetual Calendar in 18 carat red gold with hemisphere lunar display (Ref. 5021) differs from the previous rose gold model through the rather warmer hue of the case material. The second new model, the white gold variant with a midnight blue dial and silver-plated highlights, for example for the seconds subdial or on the moon disc, presents a particularly attractive side as regards colour. The simultaneous display of the two moons functions as follows: it is not the moon disc itself that moves, but an engraved disc representing the globe with two circular cut-outs set against a silver-coloured background, which carries two blue circular surfaces in a horizontal plane. In this way, the moon in the southern hemisphere is shown mirror-inverted or laterally reversed in relation to the moon in the northern hemisphere.
A second version of the Portuguese Perpetual Calendar is available with the classic cut-out moon phase display when observed from the northern hemisphere (Ref. 5023). The Earth's satellite waxes onto this miniature stage from the left behind the semicircular setting becomes visible in the middle as a full moon and wanes on the right side behind the second semicircle. It is accompanied on the moon disc by small raised stars. The two new models with the representation of the moon behind a setting are now also housed in the 44.2-millimetre case of their sibling models (Ref. 5021). These are the variant in 18 carat red gold with a silver-plated dial, solid red gold appliques and a red goldplated moon surrounded by small stars, and a highly discreet model in 18 carat white gold with rhodium-plated appliques and a slate-coloured dial.
As far as the key astronomical indication of the Portuguese Perpetual Calendar, the moon, is concerned, it is able to match the precision of scientific instruments: in these watch models - and in these alone - the gearing has been modified, thanks to the available space, so as to permit the moon cycle to be displayed with unprecedented accuracy. A tiny residual error of 12 seconds per lunar period (29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 3 seconds) will add up to a deviation of just one day after 577 years. In other words: only the moon in the heavens is more accurate according to our current state of knowledge. And then only by a small margin.