IWC AUCTIONS UNIQUE PILOT’S WATCH IN SUPPORT OF THE ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY YOUTH FOUNDATION
Geneva, 13 November 2018 – Today, Sotheby’s auctioned an exclusive Unique Piece from IWC Schaffhausen. The Big Pilot’s Watch Annual Calendar Edition “Antoine de Saint Exupéry”, with a case made of 18-carat white gold, went under the hammer, garnering a winning bid of CHF 30,000. IWC Schaffhausen will donate its full proceeds from the sale to benefit the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation, helping it to support the Association Arrimage. Among numerous projects, this institution conducts pioneering art and educational workshops allowing visually impaired children to have access for the very first time to the original illustrations of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry‘s “The Little Prince” by teaching them how to read drawings through the sense of touch.
The Big Pilot’s Watch Annual Calendar Edition “Antoine de Saint Exupéry” Unique Piece (Ref. IW502709) is housed in a case made of 18-carat white gold. The annual calendar automatically takes into account the differing lengths of individual months and only requires manual correction once a year, at the end of February. The timepiece is powered by the IWC-manufactured 52850 calibre. It is fitted with a Pellaton automatic winding system with ceramic components that builds up a power reserve of seven days in two barrels. The transparent sapphire crystal back allows the rotor to be admired, with its shape inspired by a Lockheed P-38 Lightning. It was this type of plane that Antoine de Saint-Exupéry piloted on his last flight. Both the tobacco-brown dial and the brown calf leather strap from Santoni are a nod to the flight suits worn by the famous French pilot and author and his contemporaries.
The auction in Geneva was the sixth IWC carried out in cooperation with Sotheby’s Geneva.
“We are really pleased that we can contribute to support the important work of the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation – a charitable organisation that works tirelessly to improve the everyday lives of disadvantaged children and helps them attain better futures”,
SUPPORT FOR THE PROJECTS OF ARRIMAGE
IWC Schaffhausen will donate its full proceeds from the sale to benefit the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation, helping it to support the association Arrimage in Nice, established by Dr. Claude Garrandes, a blind French artist, teacher and publisher. One of its major projects focuses on teaching visually impaired children how to read drawings in two-dimensional relief with their sense of touch using the first ever tactile art book of embossed illustrations of “The Little Prince”, accompanied by descriptions in Braille in both French and English. The book was created with the support of the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation. Thanks to unique teaching tools created by Arrimage, blind children and those with low vision are also given the opportunity to learn how to draw themselves. Just a week ago, Arrimage organised numerous workshops for visually impaired children in Singapore at the Singapore Philatelic Museum, which is currently hosting an exhibition entitled “The Little Prince: Behind the Story”.
With a clear focus on technology and development, the Swiss watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen has been producing timepieces of lasting value since 1868. The company has gained an international reputation based on a passion for innovative solutions and technical ingenuity. One of the world’s leading brands in the luxury watch segment, IWC crafts masterpieces of Haute Horlogerie at their finest, combining supreme precision with exclusive design. As an ecologically and socially responsible company, IWC is committed to sustainable production, supports institutions around the globe in their work with children and young people, and maintains partnerships with organisations dedicated to environmental protection.