IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN OPENS BOUTIQUE IN GENEVA
Schaffhausen, 6 July 2017 – IWC Schaffhausen is moving its Geneva boutique to a new location in the Rue du Rhône. Watch enthusiasts in Geneva and international visitors to the city on the Rhône will now be able to discover the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer’s six watch families in a luxury setting covering 100 square metres in a prime location. To celebrate the opening of this new boutique, IWC is launching a limited-edition Portugieser Chronograph Rattrapante model that will only be available in the Geneva boutique.
Geneva is famous throughout the world as the home of a number of international organizations and conferences. Switzerland’s second-largest city is also the historic centre of the country’s watch industry. "I am delighted that we have found a new home for our timepieces with this boutique in a prime high-visibility location, a home that truly reflects the status of the IWC brand and the importance of the city of Geneva," says Linus Fuchs, IWC Managing Director Switzerland.
The new IWC boutique is located on the ground floor of the Globus building at 48 Rue du Rhône. It has an attractive layout with sales and lounge areas on different levels. The interior features the typically elegant IWC design, with soft beige tones, dark wood accents, glass and natural stone, and, with 100 square metres of space, offers enough room for an in-house watchmaker, who will be on hand to assist customers with any technical matters.
To mark the occasion of the opening, IWC is launching a special-edition timepiece that is limited to 50 watches. The Portugieser Chronograph Rattrapante Edition "Boutique Genève" (Ref. IW371221) takes up the tradition established by the first Portugieser Chronograph Rattrapante, introduced by IWC in 1995. The double chronographfeatures a split-seconds hand that allows two separate times to be recorded simultaneously. This model features a stainless-steel case and striking feuille hands and appliquéd Arabic numerals that are both rose-gold-plated. A telemeter scale is printed on the flange at the edge of the black dial, while a tachymeter scale is printed on the inner ring. The watch is powered by the hand-wound 76240- calibre movement with a 44-hour power reserve. The words "Cé qu’è lainô", the title of Geneva’s anthem from after the year 1602, are engraved on the back of the watch. This model is fitted with a brown alligator leather strap with a folding clasp and is now available exclusively at the new IWC Boutique Geneva.
IWC Schaffhausen is the Engineer of Watchmaking. In 1868, the American watchmaker and engineer Florentine Ariosto Jones established the ‘International Watch Company’ in Schaffhausen in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. By combining the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge industrial technology and processes, he laid the foundation for IWC’s unique engineering approach to watchmaking.
IWC’s distinctive and pure design is brought to life through collections ranging from elegant dress watches to sports and luxury sports watches, notably the Portugieser, Portofino, Pilot’s Watches and Ingenieur. 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 to use.
A pioneer in the use of titanium and ceramic, IWC specializes in performance materials such as Ceratanium®. IWC’s advanced engineering division XPL develops technologies that enhance the durability of mechanical watches and extend their applications to environments with extreme conditions such as jet aviation and human spaceflight.
IWC is a leader in luxury watchmaking, crafting timepieces built to last for generations and continuously improving every aspect of how it manufactures, distributes and services its watches responsibly. Empowering the next generation of engineers, the brand also partners with organizations that work globally to support children and young people. IWC. EngineeredTM.