Friday, June 14, 2019

A. Lange & Sohne – 1815 UP/DOWN Wempe Gold Anniversary Edition


A. Lange & Sohne1815 UP/DOWN Wempe Gold 25 Anniversary Edition

A. Lange & Söhne and Wempe 
celebrate 25 years of partnership

A venerable watch and jewellery business headquartered in Hamburg, Wempe was one of the dealers invited to Dresden where the first Lange collection of the new era was presented on 24 October 1994. To celebrate the anniversary, A. Lange & Söhne has reintroduced the 1815 UP/DOWN with the characteristic power-reserve indicator. Limited to 25 watches each in white gold and pink gold, the timepiece is endowed with a deep blue signature dial.

A. Lange & Söhne and Gerhard D. Wempe KG share a legacy that dates back to the 1930s. At that time, Wempe carried A. Lange & Söhne pocket watches in Hamburg, and the companies cooperated in the field of marine chronometers. Otto Lange, the grandson of founder Ferdinand Adolph Lange, and Herbert Wempe, the second-generation manager of the jewellery business, also joined forces to establish and evolve the "Glashütte Observatory" working group.

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For this reason, Wempe was naturally among those who attended the presentation of the first four wristwatches of the new era. Walter Lange and Günter Blümlein invited the most respected jewellers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to the residential palace in Dresden in October 1994. After a tour through the manufactory, when Hellmut Wempe held the new models in his hands, he knew right away: Everything's perfect here. The watches, the people, the background story. A. Lange & Söhne cultivated Glashütte watchmaking traditions with a contemporary approach.

In the end, Hellmut Wempe ordered more watches than Lange was able to deliver at that time. It was a grand vote of confidence and the new beginning of a business relationship based on friendship; one that has lasted 25 years. Today, A. Lange & Söhne wristwatches are available at 25 Wempe points of sale – from Hamburg to New York and even on the high seas. Wempe also operates the A. Lange & Söhne Boutiques in Munich and London.

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For Lange CEO Wilhelm Schmid, Wempe is one of the globally most important ambassadors of A. Lange & Söhne. "We appreciate the superb competence of this successful family-owned business in the field of mechanical precision horology and are confident that the next 25 years of our remarkable partnership will be as fortunate and beneficial as in the past quarter century."

For A. Lange & Söhne, the anniversary is the perfect occasion to present a limited edition of the 1815 UP/DOWN with 25 watches each in white gold and pink gold. The first part of the name refers to the birth year of watch pioneer Ferdinand Adolph Lange. The second part is Lange's designation of the iconic power-reserve indicator. An engraving on the caseback denotes the limited edition.

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Both models are graced with a deep blue dial in solid silver. The rhodié-coloured subsidiary dials for the small seconds and the power-reserve indicator contrast well against the dark background. The hands for the hours and minutes, in white gold or pink gold to match the case, and the white Arabic numerals ensure good legibility. Just like the white-printed railway track minute scale, they recall the era of pocket watches. The colour concept is rounded out with a dark blue alligator leather strap that is secured with a white- or pink-gold prong buckle.

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The manually wound calibre L051.2, developed and crafted in-house, has a power reserve of 72 hours. It reflects the classic quality features of A. Lange & Söhne's tradition in craftsmanship. The movement's hallmarks include a balance cock with a free-hand engraving, the three-quarter plate decorated with Glashütte ribbing, seven screwed gold chatons polished to a mirror gloss, and the solarised winding train which is visibly integrated in the calibre.

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Press Release - 2019
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Contact information for the media
Arnd Einhorn, Director Press and PR
* Tel.: +49 (0)35053 44-5505
* E-mail: presse@lange-soehne.com
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Thursday, June 13, 2019

IWC – PILOT’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Edition ”Le Petit Prince”















IWC SchaffhausenPILOT’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Edition ”Le Petit Prince” - Unique Piece

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IWC CELEBRATES THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF 
THE ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY YOUTH FOUNDATION 
WITH AN EXCLUSIVE EXHIBITION AND CHARITY AUCTION

Schaffhausen / Paris, 13th June 2019 – IWC Schaffhausen and the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation (FASEJ) celebrate the Foundation’s 10th anniversary with a “10 years, 10 days” exhibition from 10th–20th June in Paris. The highlight of the exhibition is a preview of a unique Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Edition "Le Petit Prince”, which will be auctioned online by Sotheby’s between 8th and 17th July. IWC will donate its proceeds from the sale to the Foundation, continuing to support the charitable organisation's educational programmes for young people.

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Established in 2009, the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation (FASEJ) works to preserve the humanist values of the famous French pilot and author. IWC begun a collaboration with the heirs of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in 2006 and became a partner to FASEJ on its inception in 2009.

To celebrate their successful partnership, IWC and FASEJ are organising a “10 years, 10 days” event in Paris, including an exhibition at the IWC boutique on Rue de la Paix from 10th–20th June, as well as an exclusive cocktail reception. The special exhibition features a carefully curated selection of historic artefacts and original photographs, and also honours the foundation’s vital work in various countries around the world over the last decade.

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A particular highlight of the exhibition will be a Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Edition “Le Petit Prince” (Ref. IW392202) in 18-carat 5N gold. Featuring a spectacular midnight blue dial, this special edition is limited to 250 pieces worldwide. The auction lot itself is the piece 10 out of 250 with a beige luminescent index at 10 o’clock in celebration of the foundation’s 10th anniversary. Watch lovers around the world will be able to place bids on the unique timepiece honouring Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s most famous literary work, “The Little Prince”, from 8th–17th July.

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The perpetual calendar, designed in the early 1980s by Kurt Klaus, contains more than 80 individual parts. Its mechanical program automatically recognises the differing lengths of the months and the watch even adds a leap day to the end of February every four years. Its smart mechanism will require no manual adjustment until 2100. The date, day, month, moon phase and year displays are perfectly synchronised and can be reset by simply turning the crown. The IWC-manufactured 89630 calibre combines this iconic complication with a chronograph function. The calendar's moon phase display has been integrated with the chronograph totaliser at 12 o’clock.

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The timepiece will be offered within Sotheby’s Watches Online sale, open for bidding exclusively online from 8th–17th July. A "The Little Prince - Tactile Art Book, Claude Garrandes edition" with drawings in relief and texts in English, French and Braille and signed by François d’Agay, President of the Antoine de Saint Exupéry Youth Foundation and Dr Claude Garrandes will accompany the timepiece. For further information and to bid in the sale visit www.sothebys.com/watchesjuly

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ABOUT THE ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY YOUTH FOUNDATION

The Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation (www.fasej.org), operating under the umbrella of the Fondation de France, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. It was created by the family of the famed French writer and pilot, and his admirers from across the literary, scientific and aerospace spheres. The foundation honours Saint-Exupéry’s memory and continues his work, by passing on his universal humanist values and broadcasting his messages of peace and solidarity, the challenge to better oneself, and his pioneering approach to the environment, to the youngest members of the community, both in France and internationally.

FASEJ is faithful to the spirit of the author and aviator when he encouraged us to build a society based on respect for our fellow humans, on cultural diversity, on solidarity, on universal fraternity, on commitment, and on personal responsibility. Its philanthropic actions in the fields of education and culture, and its aim to combat illiteracy, are undertaken to improve the daily lives of young people, helping them gain skills for a more successful future.

By launching the first international writing competition to be kicked off in space by the astronaut Thomas Pesquet; by helping to build schools and libraries in developing countries; by developing relief reproductions of the illustrations in The Little Prince for blind and visually impaired children with Professor Claude Garrandès; and by enabling ill and handicapped children to take to the skies, the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation is working to achieve its only goal: to keep the memory of The Little Prince alive and to share the literary works of its author, in order to give young people the skills of reflection, altruism, commitment, and an enlightened civic conscience.


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Model  PILOT’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Edition ”Le Petit Prince”

Ref. IW392202

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Press releases - 2019
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 IWC Schaffhausen
Uwe Liebminger
Department Manager Public Relations
Mobile  +41 (0)79 957 72 52
E-mail  uwe.liebminger@iwc.com
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