Schaffhausen, 4^th October 2023: Reema Juffali, IWC Friend of the Brand from Saudi Arabia, has visited the IWC Manufakturzentrum in Schaffhausen for the first time. The professional racing driver and founder of the Theeba Motorsport team received an extensive tour of the state-of-the-art production facility where IWC crafts its high-quality mechanical watches.

Reema Juffali is a source of inspiration and a role model to female racing drivers and athletes worldwide. She is the first-ever Saudi Arabian female racing driver, the first Saudi woman to hold a racing license, and the first to win an international motor race. On her visit to Schaffhausen, Juffali was welcomed at the company’s headquarters. Juffali, who joined the IWC family two years ago, then headed out to the IWC Manufakturzentrum, where she was given an extensive tour of the facility.

IWC’s new manufacturing centre was inaugurated in 2018 to mark the company’s 150^th anniversary. In this ground-breaking production facility, IWC has combined components making, movement assembly and case making in one place for the first time. The process from raw metal to finished watch movement or case is organised in logical and sequential steps, accompanied by tightly integrated quality management and sustainable production processes. Juffali jumped at the opportunity to talk to watchmakers and engineers, experiencing the making of an IWC watch first-hand. During her visit, Juffali wore the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 in stainless steel with a black dial on a steel bracelet. The chronograph in an ergonomic 41-millimetre case size boasts the typical design in the style of an easy-to-read cockpit instrument that has become the hallmark of IWC’s Pilot’s Watches. It is powered by the IWC-manufactured 69385 calibre movement. The chronograph movement in a classic column-wheel design can be admired through the sapphire glass case back.

ABOUT REEMA JUFFALI

Reema Juffali was born in Jeddah on 18^th January 1992. She developed an interest in cars from a young age and made history in 2018 by becoming the first-ever female racing driver from Saudi Arabia. In 2021, she competed in the GB3 Championship before making her endurance racing debut at the 2022 Dubai 24 Hours, where she finished second. Juffali subsequently founded her own team, Theeba Motorsport, to facilitate Saudi Arabian access to and participation in motor racing through educational opportunities and programmes. The team made its first appearance in the 2022 International GT Open where it secured victory at its debut – an achievement which made Juffali the first Saudi woman to win an international motor race – before scoring a vice championship title in the series’ Pro-Am class. Juffali was recently named one of the world’s most inspiring and influential women by the BBC in 2022.