Geneva, 15 November 2016 – Today, Sotheby’s auctioned an exclusive, unique timepiece by IWC Schaffhausen. The Big Pilot’s Watch Annual Calendar Edition “Le Petit Prince” with a unique blue movement went under the hammer for CHF 48,750. The proceed will go to the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation, a globally active organization that campaigns to support children and young people living in difficult conditions. The Big Pilot’s Watch Annual Calendar Edition “Le Petit Prince” (Ref. IW502704) is the first and so far the only watch in the history of IWC with a blue movement. The manufacturing process required to make it has taken around 1.5 years to develop and refine.
To give the IWC-manufactured 52850 calibre its striking blue colour, the plates and bridges have been coated with various metal oxides. The major challenge of this process was keeping the thickness of the coating consistent and achieving a completely even tone using the chemical vapour depositiontechnique (CVD). When combined with the blue screws and red gemstones, the blue movement creates the perfect backdrop for the 18-carat 5N gold rotor: it depicts the little prince from the story with the same name by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry standing on a planet staring out at the starry night sky.
“Not only is the blue movement an extraordinary eyecatcher, but it also underscores the long-standing tradition of engineering here at IWC Schaffhausen. I am therefore particularly delighted that we have been able to use it to contribute to the impressive proceeds from the auction, so the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation can now get started on other important projects,” says Georges Kern, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen.
The foundation was established in 2008 by the descendants of the French author and pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Active throughout the world, it campaigns primarily for the promotion of training and education courses for disadvantaged children and adolescents. Today’s auction was the fourth auction that IWC Schaffhausen has held for the foundation in cooperation with Sotheby’s Geneva. The plan for the proceeds from this year’s auction is to use the funds to translate Saint-Exupéry’s book “The Little Prince”, including the illustrations, into Braille with illustrations in relief so the complete work will be accessible for the first time to children with visual impairments.
Further Information
IWC Public Relations
Email press-iwc@iwc.com
FEATURES
- Mechanical movement
- Pellaton automatic winding
- Power reserve display
- Annual calendar with date, day and month displays
- Small hacking seconds at “9 o’clock”
- Indexless Glucydur®* beryllium alloy balance with high-precision adjustment screws on the rim
- Breguet spring
- See-through sapphire-glass back
- Glass secured against displacement by drop in air pressure
- 18-carat gold rotor
- Limited edition of 250 watches
MOVEMENT
- IWC-manufactured calibre: 52850
- Frequency: 28,800 A/h | 4 Hz
- Jewels: 36
- Power reserve: 7 days (168 h)
- Winding: Automatic
WATCH
- Materials: 18-carat 5N gold case, blue dial, dark brown calfskin strap by Santoni, 18-carat 5N gold folding clasp
- Glass: Sapphire glass, convex, antireflective coating on both sides
- Water-resistant: 6 bar
- Diameter: 46 mm
- Height: 15.5 mm
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