FREESTYLE SKIER EILEEN GU VISITS IWC AT WATCHES AND WONDERS GENEVA
Schaffhausen/Geneva, 29th March 2023 – Two-time Olympic champion freestyle skier Eileen Gu joined IWC Schaffhausen on Wednesday at the Watches and Wonders exhibition in Geneva. It is the first time Gu, an IWC Friend of the Brand since 2021, has attended the leading watch fair, which runs until April 2nd.
During her visit, Gu toured IWC’s booth, which this year has a retro-futuristic look dedicated to the latest reimagining of the Ingenieur watch. First developed in the 1950s as a homage to technical ingenuity, the Ingenieur collection is characterised by the Swiss luxury watchmaker’s passion for engineering, material innovation and style. The new editions are inspired by Gérald Genta’s design from the 1970s, considered one of the most iconic steel sports watches ever created.
After CEO Christoph Grainger-Herr welcomed her, Gu was handed an ‘Ingenieur coat’, similar to the lab jackets worn by IWC’s watchmakers, in a symbolic nod to the brand’s engineering know-how. The Olympic medallist was then taken on a tour where she had the opportunity to learn more about the new Ingenieur editions and the ‘FORM UND TECHNIK’ premise of the booth and campaign. She was also presented with some of IWC’s newest chronographs from the Pilot’s Watches, Portugieser and Portofino collections..
“It’s incredible to be here at Watches and Wonders in Geneva with IWC today,” explained Gu. “The design of the booth is so impressive, and to have the chance to see and touch all the new watches has been super interesting. In addition, absorbing the Ingenieur story this way has given me an even greater understanding of the collection’s meticulous engineering and astonishing technicality.”
“It is always a pleasure to work with Eileen, and we are delighted to welcome her to Watches and Wonders this year. Whether furthering her career out on the slopes, making a difference as a voice for change or as a student at Stanford, she is such a terrific champion of discipline and ambition. In constantly striving for perfection, she mirrors our commitment to excellence, making her a perfect partner for IWC.”
During the event, Gu wore the Portofino Automatic Day & Night 34 (Ref. IW659802). Featuring a luxurious 18 carat 5n gold case decorated with 66 light-reflecting diamonds, a silver-plated dial and a taupe calfskin leather strap, the design is a declaration of understated femininity. Moreover, it is the first 34-millimetre Portofino to feature IWC’s intricate day & night complication. Full of poeticism, this charming addition sees an expertly-crafted sun or the moon appearing on the dial at 6 o’clock to indicate if it is day or night.
Following her appearance at Watches and Wonders, Gu is now expected to accompany IWC back to Schaffhausen for her first visit to the watchmaker’s Manufakturzentrum on Thursday.
ABOUT EILEEN GU
Born in 2003, Eileen Gu is a champion freestyle skier, a successful fashion model and a student at the prestigious Stanford University. Gu started recreational skiing at age three before delving into freestyle skiing when she was eight. Freeski is an action-packed extreme sport that involves spectacular acrobatic skills like flips, spins and slides. She became the youngest Olympic champion in her category at Beijing’s 2022 Winter Olympics after winning two gold medals and a silver medal. Most recently, she participated in January’s Winter X Games in Aspen and the Freestyle Ski World Cup in Calgary.
IWC Schaffhausen is a leading Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen in the north-eastern part of Switzerland. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant to sports watches. Founded in 1868 by the American watchmaker and engineer Florentine Ariosto Jones, IWC is known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, combining the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes.
Over its more than 150-year history, IWC has earned a reputation for creating professional instrument watches and functional complications, especially chronographs and calendars, which are ingenious, robust, and easy for customers to use. A pioneer in the use of titanium and ceramics, IWC today specialises in highly engineered watch cases manufactured from advanced materials, such as coloured ceramics, Ceratanium®, and titanium aluminide.
A leader in sustainable luxury watchmaking, IWC sources materials responsibly and takes action to minimise its impact on the environment. Along the pillars of transparency, circularity, and responsibility, the brand crafts timepieces built to last for generations and continuously improves every element of how it manufactures, distributes, and services its products in the most responsible way. IWC also partners with organisations that work globally to support children and young people.