This week, at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva, IWC Schaffhausen hosted around 800 international guests and representatives of the media from around the globe for the launch of its new Ingenieur watches. The event was co-hosted by IWC CEO Georges Kern and Academy Award winner Kevey Spacey, while Nico Rosberg and his Formula One™ racing car galvanised the atmosphere and Jamiroquai supplied the music.
This latest IWC collection perfectly expresses the new partnership between IWC and the MERCEDES AMG PETRONASFormula One™ Team. As Georges Kern says, “IWC’s passion for engineering excellence, for the highest technical performance and for precision has earned it a high profile over the years. We associate these attributes with motor racing in general, but with the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team in particular. As their Official Engineering Partner for the next 3 years, we have forged a cohesive link between our Ingenieur line of watches and the thrills and heritage of Formula One™. Our latest innovations are dedicated to this partnership. This evening marks the start of the relaunch of this tradition-steeped watch family from the House of IWC.”
Guests included Tim Jefferies, Boris Becker, Peter Lindbergh and Marc Forster. Also present were Friends of the Brand Ewan McGregor, Zinédine Zidane, Karolina Kurkova, Ross Brawn, Adriana Lima, Luis Figo and Matthew Fox. A spectacular competition between some of the special guests followed when Nico Rosberg invited them to change the tyres on his Formula One car in a simulated pit stop.
Geneva’s Palexpo Hall 1 provided an authentic impression of the exciting motor sport with three genuine MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS race trucks, parked at the red carpet, before the guests were welcomed in the garage area. There they had the opportunity to view replicas of the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ racing cars at close quarters. Meanwhile adrenaline levels soared, as visitors to the VIP cocktail lounge vied for pole position with remote-controlled racing cars.
Georges Kern gave tours of the IWC exhibition stand during the afternoon. Amid a breathtaking atmosphere, IWC Brand Ambassadors enjoyed hands-on contact with the new watch collection.
The Schaffhausen manufacturer displayed its historic Ingenieur watches from the 1950s in mechanical showcases, in the style of moving pistons, along with the latest models in this extremely masculine collection. The partnership with the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team is again underpinned by the fact that some watchmaking innovations use the same high-tech materials as automotive engineering. For the first time in the history of IWC, a timepiece makes a proud appearance in an attractive carbon case. Titanium, titanium aluminide, ceramic and platinum also provide eye-catching features within the collection. “Motorsport means perfection, technology, action and emotion. We celebrate and display all these characteristics at our stand, so our guests can savour the world of performanceengineering,” concluded Georges Kern.
Kevin Spacey, long-standing Friend of the Brand explained his appearance in Geneva: “I’ve been associated with the IWC brand for many years. As a fan of both watches and cars, it gave me immense pleasure to chair the IWC Race Night.”
Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay arrived in an SLS AMG, especially designed for the IWC Race Night, With their unique blend of funk, electro, pop and soul, the musicians lured the IWC gala guests on to the dance floor in droves and instilled a relaxed mood with their energy-charged private concert.
By all accounts, it was a thrilling event and we at Fraser Hart look forward to receiving this exciting new collection of IWC watches into our stores.
