IWC Schaffhausen – PILOT’s Chronograph Edition "The Last Flight" NEW
IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN PAYS
TRIBUTE TO SAINT-EXUPÉRY’S
LAST FLIGHT
TRIBUTE TO SAINT-EXUPÉRY’S
LAST FLIGHT
Schaffhausen, 11 August 2014 – 70 years ago, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry took off on a reconnaissance flight over France and never returned. Now, IWC Schaffhausen commemorates the last flight of the celebrated pilot and author with three special limited editions, thereby strengthening its longstandingpartnership with Saint-Exupéry’s descendants. Moreover, all proceeds from the sale of the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition “The Last Flight” in platinum at an auction later this year will benefit the charitable Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size .. BIG FOTO
A reconnaissance flight over the South of France on 31 July 1944 brought an abrupt end to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s career and passion for flying. After taking off from a military base in Corsica, his Lockheed P-38 Lightning vanished without trace. Saint-Exupéry had already been discharged from the air force because of his age. He was also slightly overweight, and too big for the aircraft’s narrow cockpit. Despite all that, he was a patriot and an author constantly in search of adventure and decided to embark on the reconnaissance flight. Somewhere close to Toulon he was spotted by the German Luftwaffe. Speculation as to where he came down only ended in 1998, when a fisherman found a bracelet belonging to the French national hero in his net while fishing off the shore of Marseille. Pieces of wreckage were later recovered from the sea and identified as parts of Saint-Exupéry’s aircraft.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size .. BIG FOTO
The German pilot who all those years ago had unwittingly shot down one of his favourite authors recently met the French aviator’s family for the first time. “Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s passion for flying guided his life and work, and ultimately determined his fate. Since we began our cooperation with his descendants in 2006, IWC has unveiled a series of special limited editions of its Pilot’s Watch that have kept the memory of this extraordinarypilot and aviation pioneer alive to this day,” says IWC CEO Georges Kern. This year, the Schaffhausenbased watch manufacturer marks the 70th anniversary of Saint-Exupéry’s last flight with three special editions featuringsilicon nitride ceramic cases: the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition “The Last Flight” is available with a crown and push-buttons in titanium, red gold or platinum,each in a limited series.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size .. BIG FOTO
A tradition of commitment
to social causes
to social causes
In November, Sotheby’s Geneva will auction one of the platinum models. As on many occasions in the past, IWC will donate the entire proceeds to the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation, which champions the great Frenchman’s humanitarian philosophy and is involved in projects aimed at improving literacy among children and young people across the world. On this occasion, the money is destined for the Hospital Pequeno Príncipe in Curitiba. Brazil’s largest children’s hospital is a respected centre specializing in highly complex heart operations, organand bone transplants and cancer treatment, and is able to count on the help of over 500 volunteers. Thanks to IWC’s contribution, the hospital’s recreational area will soon have a library to offer its young patients. Access to good literature should encourage them to take pleasure in reading and culture, and to find a constructive way of spending their free time.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size .. BIG FOTO
Helping young people
to help themselves
to help themselves
“Our sense of social responsibility reflects what happens in our own company,” explains Georges Kern. “We want to feel sure that our commitment is conducive to progress and positive development. In the Saint-Exupéry Foundation, we support an organization that has a huge international network and does an incredible amount for disadvantaged children with its local projects. Together, we help them to carve out a future for themselves and to play an active role in society.” As recently as November 2013, a unique timepiece from the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer came under the hammer at Sotheby’s Geneva. The proceeds of CHF 173,000 were used to open two school buildings ncluding a library in Cambodia, which offer an education to 1,200 children. IWC Schaffhausen, well known for its almost 80 years’ experience in the manufacture of Pilot’s Watches, decided to pursue a partnership with Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s descendants due to their many shared values. They both share a passion for flying, technology and engineering, and have a pronounced sense of social responsibility.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size .. BIG FOTO
A wa tch to commemorate
the final flight
the final flight
Since the very first one, all IWC special editions in honour of the legendary Antoine de Saint-Exupéry have featured the same tobacco colour as the flying suit he used to wear. While this elegant colour was restricted to the dial in earliermodels, the new Pilot’s Watches in “The Last Flight” Chronograph Edition are much more consistent, with a brown ceramic case made from silicon nitride, a brown dial and a calfskin strap in the same colour. The titanium pushbuttons, crown and case back provide a pleasing contrast on the 1,700 pieces in the limited edition (Ref. IW388004), a further 170 watches (Ref. IW388006) have eye-catching red gold highlights and 17 timepieces (Ref. IW388005) feature a crown, buttons and case back in platinum. The rugged case, made of high-performance ceramic silicon nitride, has several outstanding properties such as enormousheat resistance, unusual hardness, corrosion resistance and very low wear and tear.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size .. BIG FOTO
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size .. BIG FOTO
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size .. BIG FOTO
The sense of quality emanated by this model is underscored by the elaborate sun-pattern finish on the dial. The sapphire glass has an antireflective coating on both sides and is secured against drops in air pressure, while the case is water-resistant to 6 bar. Developed and manufactured by IWC entirely in Schaffhausen, the 89361 calibre is a technical masterpiece. Stop times up to 12 hours are clearly displayed on an analogue hour and minute counter on a subdial. The back of the watch is engraved with a special image which commemorates the 70th anniversary of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s last flight. The timepiece itself is packaged in a leather case embossed with the same motif as the exquisite engraving on the case back, and is accompanied by a r otor-shaped letteropener in stainless steel. The two models, with crown and push-buttons in precious metals, also come with a print by French artist Manolo Chrétien on duraluminium in a brown leather frame.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size .. BIG FOTO
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size .. BIG FOTO
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size .. BIG FOTO
-----------------------------------------------------------
Technical Specifications
Model: PILOT’s Chronograph "The Last Flight" Limited Edition
Features
* Mechanical chronograph movement
* Self-winding
* Date display
* Stopwatch function with hours, minutes and seconds
* Hour and minute counters, combined in a totalizer at 12 o’clock
* Flyback function
* Small hacking seconds
* Screw-in crown
* Special engraving on case back in memory of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s last flight.
Movement
IWC-manufactured calibre 89361
Frequency 28,800 A/h / 4 Hz
Jewels 38
Power reserve 68 h
Winding automatic
Watch
Materials brown silicon nitride ceramic case, brown dial, brown calfskin strap with quilted stitching, pin buckle
- Ref. IW388004: black counters, push-buttons, crown and case back in
coating, limited to 1,700 watches
- Ref. IW388006: red-gold-plated counters, push-buttons, crown and
Super-LumiNova®* coating, limited to 170 watches
- Ref. IW388005: rhodium-plated counters, push-buttons, crown and
Super-LumiNova®* coating, limited to 17 watches
Glass
Sapphire, convex, antireflective coating on both sides, withstands drops in air pressure
Water-resistant 6 bar
Diameter 46 mm
Case height 16.5 mm
---------------------------------------------
IWC Schaffhausen
Uwe Liebminger
Department Manager Public Relations
Mobile +41 (0)79 957 72 52
E-mail uwe.liebminger@iwc.com
---------------------------------
www.facebook.com - IWC Watches
--------------------------------------------
www.iwc.com
