LEGENDARY COMPOSER HANS ZIMMER PARTNERS WITH IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN FOR TWO SPECTACULAR CONCERTS IN DUBAI
Schaffhausen/Dubai, 28 January 2023 IWC Schaffhausen Friend of the Brand and multiple Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer has brought his sell-out European tour, Hans Zimmer Live, to Dubai this weekend. Held at the city's prestigious Coca-Cola Arena, the two concerts are hosted in partnership with IWC. It is the first time the German composer is performing in the Middle East. After a stunning opening last night, the second show will be held this evening.
Zimmer has scored over 200 projects, including some of the most successful films of our time. He has been honored with two Academy Awards®, three Golden Globes®, three Grammys®, an American Music Award, and a Tony® Award.
In 2022, IWC teamed up with Zimmer to create original music inspired by the ceramic colors used by the luxury watch manufacturer for five monochromatic watch designs which were added to the TOP GUN Pilot’s Watches collection. For the unique project, titled ‘The Sound of Color’, Zimmer composed five pieces of music, one for each color: IWC “Ceratanium®”, “Mojave Desert”, ”Woodland”, “Lake Tahoe” and “Jet Black”.
During the 2022 Watches and Wonders exhibition, Zimmer conducted a performance of the suite of tracks at an exclusive event at Geneva’s Théâtre du Léman in Switzerland. This weekend’s Dubai concerts are the first time Zimmer is performing in the Middle East and, on this occasion, is celebrating the continuation of his close partnership with IWC.
“It’s been such a thrill to bring the show to Dubai,” explained Zimmer after finishing his performance. “Being on stage to play my music with the orchestra, live band, and dancers is always an extraordinary privilege. To do so in partnership with IWC here in this amazing city has felt particularly special, and I look forward to returning soon.”
Last year, IWC opened one of its flagship boutiques in the Dubai Mall, representing its innovative ‘new retail’ concept that blurs the traditional boundaries between a physical boutique and a digital experience.
“IWC Schaffhausen is proud to have one of our three flagship stores in Dubai, and we wanted to celebrate this by being part of these concerts that bring together this incredible city and our much-admired Friend of the Brand, Hans Zimmer, for the first time. In each of our spheres, we all represent a spirit of timelessness from Hans’ music to our watches and, finally, the remarkable architecture of Dubai’s skyline."
During both performances, Zimmer wore his IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Ceratanium® (Ref. IW503604). Part of the TOP GUN collection, the watch is the first to feature a bracelet fully made from Ceratanium®, an innovative material developed by IWC. This patented material is as tough and almost as light as titanium yet similarly, it is as hard and scratch-resistant as ceramic. As well as its optimum material properties, what characterizes Ceratanium® is its matte black color. The watch also features IWC’s iconic perpetual calendar complication which can be operated simply via the crown. Developed in the 1980s by former head watchmaker Kurt Klaus, its ingeniously arranged parts will continue to run without manual intervention until 2100.
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.