Last night, WatchTime magazine had its San Francisco collectors’ event where Jeff Kingston spoke on the 2008 new models shown at the Geneva and Basel watch fairs. This year, WatchTime is presenting this in six U.S. cities, and about 200 collectors attended the sold-out San Francisco event.
IWC is one of the brands sponsoring the event and, as you might expect, was one of the stars. I was there to meet collectors –many of whom are old friends—and to talk about the new models. Most of the Vintage Collection was shown, except the Portuguese and Ingenieur models. Even IWC can’t hold on to them!
The star of the show seemed to be the Portofino, especially in platinum. That seems to attract huge interest and compliments. But all models were extremely well received, and the IWC table was jammed with interested viewers. The owner of Shreve, a large San Francisco retailer, told me that they’ve already sold all but two models from their initial allocation.
Jeff’s 90 minute presentation was well-received, and IWC received significant time –out of over 40 brands covered—at the beginning. There was a film clip of an interview with Guy Bove, creative director at IWC, and all six Vintage Collection models were shown. Plus the St. Ex UTC and, I’m glad to say, the Regulateur Tourbillon.
Here’s a close-up of the IWC table before the dinner and presentation:
And here’s a photo only I would publish. It’s yours truly on the right plus Benoit de Clerck, IWC’s North American President. Ben snuck up on me (I didn’t know he was in the photo) and was clowning around. As you can see he’s a two-fisted drinker.
All in all, a very nice event. Now on to the event in L.A.
5,026 Discussions and CommentsMember since Aug. 9, 2006
Thanks MF, I will be attending the Philadelphia
event in September. I look forward to Jeff''s presentation again. It is an enjoyable evening. I think the Philly event is nearly sold out as well. Should be fun. Thanks for the photos and update on the VC. My AD has sold out all but two of his initial allocation as well. The VC seems to be a big hit.
Will you come to the PHL presentation? We missed you last year.
...I'll be in L.A. on Saturday, and probably NYC and Dallas, plus Chicago. But it requires me taking a lot of time away from the office to get to both NYC and Philadelphia, so as of now I'm taking that one off.
3,731 Discussions and CommentsMember since March 28, 2001
Thanks Michael, and I am not surprised
I am thrilled by the idea, no, the reality, that the Vintage Collection is such a huge success. This is so important, because it may help to decide which direction to go in models. I see all kinds of horrible watches in the different watch magazines, but IWC chooses to build beautiful watches, and they sell! The whole Vintage Collection is such a special concept, it fully deserves this success.
Kind regards, Paul, wearing titan Inge Automatic, also true love
What you do may not be so important, but it is very important that you do it well. (my variation of a saying by Gandhi)
IWC is one of the brands sponsoring the event and, as you might expect, was one of the stars. I was there to meet collectors –many of whom are old friends—and to talk about the new models. Most of the Vintage Collection was shown, except the Portuguese and Ingenieur models. Even IWC can’t hold on to them!
The star of the show seemed to be the Portofino, especially in platinum. That seems to attract huge interest and compliments. But all models were extremely well received, and the IWC table was jammed with interested viewers. The owner of Shreve, a large San Francisco retailer, told me that they’ve already sold all but two models from their initial allocation.
Jeff’s 90 minute presentation was well-received, and IWC received significant time –out of over 40 brands covered—at the beginning. There was a film clip of an interview with Guy Bove, creative director at IWC, and all six Vintage Collection models were shown. Plus the St. Ex UTC and, I’m glad to say, the Regulateur Tourbillon.
Here’s a close-up of the IWC table before the dinner and presentation:
And here’s a photo only I would publish. It’s yours truly on the right plus Benoit de Clerck, IWC’s North American President. Ben snuck up on me (I didn’t know he was in the photo) and was clowning around. As you can see he’s a two-fisted drinker.
All in all, a very nice event. Now on to the event in L.A.
Regards,
Michael
Regards, Michael
mfriedberg@iwcforum.com
Last edited: 5 April, 2012 - 19:53
event in September. I look forward to Jeff''s presentation again. It is an enjoyable evening. I think the Philly event is nearly sold out as well. Should be fun. Thanks for the photos and update on the VC. My AD has sold out all but two of his initial allocation as well. The VC seems to be a big hit.
Will you come to the PHL presentation? We missed you last year.
Bill
Bill
Last edited: 23 June, 2012 - 20:15
....was the star attraction!!!!
Thanks for posting :-)
Cheers,
Nad
...I'll be in L.A. on Saturday, and probably NYC and Dallas, plus Chicago. But it requires me taking a lot of time away from the office to get to both NYC and Philadelphia, so as of now I'm taking that one off.
Sorry --and sorry I'll miss you,
Michael
Regards, Michael
mfriedberg@iwcforum.com
Last edited: 5 April, 2012 - 19:53
I am thrilled by the idea, no, the reality, that the Vintage Collection is such a huge success. This is so important, because it may help to decide which direction to go in models. I see all kinds of horrible watches in the different watch magazines, but IWC chooses to build beautiful watches, and they sell! The whole Vintage Collection is such a special concept, it fully deserves this success.
Kind regards,
Paul, wearing titan Inge Automatic, also true love
What you do may not be so important, but it is very important that you do it well. (my variation of a saying by Gandhi)
Last edited: 23 October, 2011 - 13:31
Thank you MF
For the report and the photos.
It seems you're having a great time Michael. Enjoy.
Regards
Argiris
Best regards
Argiris
Last edited: 29 October, 2011 - 21:11
Last edited: 28 February, 2011 - 19:59