IWC Schaffhausen

Hong Kong, 21 March 2012 – IWC Schaffhausen is honored to have received Ming Pao Weekly magazine’s Elite Award 2011 in the category “International Event”. The winning international event for IWC was the Portuguese Sidérale Scafusia launch presentation, held in August 2011 in Chile.

The “Elite Awards 2011” are an honorary awards presentation, organized by Hong Kong’s prestigious Ming Pao Weekly magazine. The event aims to recognize outstanding enterprises and brands in their pursuit of superiority, and to augment their business profiles, both locally and internationally.

Nominees were appointed by readers and by local business elites via the Hong Kong Ming Pao Weekly website,between December 31st of 2011, to January 31st of 2012. Nominations resulted in the most influential enterprises and brands in the Asia Pacific Regions shortlisted, and four award categories presented in the ceremony.

IWC Schaffhausen is proud to have won the Elite Award 2011 in the “International Event” category, for the Portuguese Sidérale Scafusia launch presentation in Chile.

After ten years of intensive research, the Swiss watch manufacturer succeeded in uniting solar time with sidereal time, together with astronomical displays, in a single watch: The Portuguese Sidérale Scafusia – the most complex timepiece ever created by IWC. The timepiece is a fascinating universal work of art, which comes with a wealth of surprising complications and new technical features.

IWC brought this masterpiece to life with an extraordinary agenda: by inviting media professionals to gather at the heart of the Chilean desert, Paranal. Here, IWC Schaffhausen presented this technological masterpiece of Haute Horlogerie to journalists from all over the world in August 2011. Paranal, built and operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), hosts the Very Large Telescope, the flagship of European astronomy and the most advanced optical instrument of its kind.

To live as an astronomer, participants experienced the daily life of a scientific researcher. “We had food from the canteen and slept at the dormitory like all the scientists do. It was a once in a lifetime experience”, commented Mr. Lung King Cheong, Editor in Chief of Ming Pao Weekly, who was one of the journalists attending the event.

“With a history that dates back over 140 years, IWC has set a new benchmark with this watch. Inviting media professionals from all over the world to the unveiling of the new star in IWC’s firmament – at a venue just as unusual as the watch itself – was truly exceptional. We are glad for this recognition, and appreciate the support from Ming Pao Weekly tremendously”, commented Benoit de Clerck, Managing Director of IWC North East Asia.