Tropicana Magazine Mar-Apr 2018 #117: Edge Of Excitement

NEWS | THE TIME
IMAGES BY IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN
IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN: IN CELEBRATION OF 150 YEARS
IWC Schaffhausen turns 150 this year and to mark this important milestone, the company unveiled
a special Jubilee collection at SIHH that comprises 27 limited-edition models from the Portugieser,
Portofino, Pilot’s Watch and Da Vinci families. IWC also commemorated the occasion with the
launch of its first-ever wristwatch to feature the original digital hours and minute display – just as
it appeared on its Pallweber pocket watches back in 1884. Sadly we can’t feature all 27 pieces, but we
can pick some of the brand’s historical highlights.
JAEGER-LECOULTRE
X BENEDICT
CUMBERBATCH
The English are excellent timekeepers –
punctual to a fault; which makes the pairing
of Swiss watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre and
its new brand ambassador actor Benedict
Cumberbatch well, elementary of course.
Best known for playing the title role
in the BBC production of ‘Sherlock’, the
multi-award-winning actor famously wore
a Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin
Perpetual engraved watch in the Marvel
adaptation of ‘Dr Strange’.
The actor who attended SIHH 2018, an
annual invite only watch trade show held
in Geneva, clearly relishes his new role,
declaring himself, “ a great watchmaking
enthusiast … delighted to be associated with
such an outstanding watch manufacturer”.
You’ll see him next playing Patrick Melrose
in Showtime’s limited series ‘Melrose’ due
for release later this year.
www.jaeger-lecoultre.com
Big Pilot Watch (1940)
1,000 pieces were supplied to the German Air Force in 1940 and was the
biggest wristwatch ever built by IWC.
Portugieser Wristwatch (1954)
Built in 1939 at the request of two Portuguese merchants, it uses pocket
watch movement calibres 74 and 98 for its precision timing.
Aquatimer (1967)
Released when diving was growing in popularity as a sport, the brand’s
first dive watch was watertight to a depth of 200 metres and featured a
rotating bezel for adjusting the diving time situated under the glass.
Da Vinci Lady Chronograph (1988)
Featuring a semi-mechanical chronograph movement and a date and
moon-phase display, this women’s watch was available in 18 carat yellow
gold and stainless steel versions, set with or without 95 diamonds.
Savonette Pocket Watch Pallweber (1886)
The culmination of the 1884 deal between Johann Rauschenbach and
Salzburg watchmaker Josef Pallweber, this was the first digital watch
assembled by IWC, where time is shown as a sequence of numbers.
IWC Tribute to Pallweber Edition "150 Years" (2018)
Available in a limited edition of 250 pieces, this “digital” timepiece, in an
18-carat red gold case, utilises a patent-pending solution to advance the
watch’s single-minute disc. Where the historical version used toothed
cogs, this reverential update uses an ingenious separate wheel train and
barrel.
65 MARCH/APRIL 2018 | TM