IWC – BIG PILOT's Annual Calendar Edition “Le Petit Prince” Gold Unique

IWC Schaffhausen – BIG PILOT's Annual Calendar Edition “Le Petit Prince” White Gold 46 mm Unique Piece NEW

#BLUEDIAL: A DESIGN TREND
FROM SCHAFFHAUSEN IS TAKING
THE WATCH WORLD BY STORM

Schaffhausen, 12 December 2016 – 50 years ago, IWC Schaffhausen created watches with blue dials. In doing so, the watchmaker from north-east Switzerland set off a design trend that has now spread throughout the entire watch industry. Around 120 references and limited special editions with blue dials have been launched in the six watch families and in various shades since 1967. IWC presents the latest highlight in blue – the Big Pilot’s Watch Annual Calendar Edition “Le Petit Prince” with a blue dial and a blue-coloured movement, limited to 250 pieces.

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Blue represents the expanse of the sky and the unfathom­ able depth of the sea. The colour of distance and infinity radiates harmony, contentment and peace. Watches with blue dials are currently all the rage in fashion and have also gone down a storm on the Internet for months under the hashtag #bluedial. As one of its pioneers, IWC Schaffhausen has had a significant influence on this design trend: the manufacturer launched its first models with blue dials in 1967 – the Ingenieur Automatic (Ref. 866 AD) and the Yacht Club Automatic (Ref. 811 A /AD). This kind of timepiece has had a permanent place in the collection ever since.

In the 1990s, the rule that blue dials could only be used with platinum cases still applied – such as the legendary 1994 Pilot’s Watch Mark XII (Ref. IW324107) or the 1999 Pilot’s Watch UTC (Ref. IW325103). Today, however, elegant blue dials can also be found in combin­ ation with gold, stainless-steel or even ceramic cases.

BLUE IS VERY MUCH AT HOME ON THE “LE PETIT PRINCE”
AND THE “LAUREUS” TIMEPIECES

Since 2008, IWC has also regularly launched Pilot’s Watches in honour of the famous story “Le Petit Prince” by French aviation pioneer and author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. All “Le Petit Prince” watches boast blue dials. IWC is carrying on this tradition and now presents the latest highlight in blue: the Big Pilot’s Watch Annual Calendar Edition “Le Petit Prince” (Ref. IW502703) is limited to 250 pieces. This timepiece a white gold case not only has a blue dial but, for the first time in the history of IWC, also a blue movement: the IWC-manufactured­ 52850 calibre is visible through the sapphire-­glass case back and gets its distinctive colour from a coating with various metallic oxides.

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This timepiece a white gold case not only has a blue dial but, for the first time in the history of IWC, also a blue movement: the IWC-manufactured­ 52850 calibre is visible through the sapphire-­glass case back and gets its distinctive colour from a coating with various metallic oxides.

Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size ...            BIG FOTO

In addition to the “Le Petit Prince” Pilot’s Watches, the colour blue is also a firm fixture in the special editions for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation: besides their engraved back, the dial in Laureus blue is the key feature of these timepieces, which IWC has released every year since 2006. In the tenth overall special edition for Lau-reus, the Portofino Automatic Moon Phase 37 Edition “Laureus Sport for Good Foundation” (Ref. IW459006), the colour blue also represents the hope of disadvan-taged children and young people for a better future.

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Jessica Kastrop, in Berlin where the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer presented the limited special edition watch Portofino Automatic Moon Phase 37 "Edition Laureus Sport for Good Foundation" with the characteristic Laureus blue on the dial

BLUE SPECIAL EDITIONS
DELIGHT COLLECTORS

IWC has always skilfully showcased the colour of the ocean in various special editions. The watchmaker created one of its most spectacular shades of blue in 2004 for the Aquatimer Edition “Cousteau Divers” (Ref. IW354803/IW354806) diver’s watch. IWC reissued a style icon this year with deep blue dials – the Portugieser Chronograph Rattrapante Edition “Boutique Milano” (Ref. IW371215) and the Edition “Boutique Munich” (Ref. IW371217).

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BLUE DIALS GO INTO THE
VACUUM CHAMBER

IWC often uses what is called physical vapour deposition (PVD) to manufacture blue dials. The PVD procedure allows­ extremely dense coatings to be created, which are only fractions of a micrometre thick. The dials are first galvanically nickel-plated and gold-plated. The actual PVD coating then ­follows, where they are steamed in a vacuum chamber with gaseous­ metal­ ions. The final colour depends on the specific process properties and the coating thickness, among other­ things. As an alter­ native to PVD coating, special paints are also used to achieve the blue colour on certain models.

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THE ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY YOUTH FOUNDATION

Under the aegis of the Fondation de France, the foundation was created by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s family to promote the great French writer’s humanist philosophy. Liaising closely with companies that share its values and aims, the foundation works primarily to help disadvantaged young people all over the world by encouraging and financing local initiatives designed to provide education and training across a broad spectrum of areas. By instilling a sense of purpose into young people and teaching them to live together as part of their communities, to find fulfilment in work and to access culture through reading and writing, it helps them to become responsible citizens.
Website: www.fasej.org

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Technical Specifications

Model: BIG PILOT’s Watch Annual Calendar Edition “Le Petit Prince” White Gold -  limited edition to 250 pieces.

Ref: IW502703 Case in 18-carat White Gold case
Midnight blue dial, dark brown calfskin strap by Santoni, 18-carat white gold folding clasp

FEATURES
Unique piece special - limited to 250 pieces
Midnight blue dial – Blue mechanical movement – Power reserve display
Annual calendar with displays for the month, date and day of the week
Small hacking seconds – Breguet spring
Rotor in 18-carat white gold shows the little prince standing on his planet
Screw-in crown – Glass secured against displacement by drops in air pressure
See-through sapphire-glass back 
MOVEMENT
    IWC-manufactured calibre: 52850 (blue)
    Frequency: 28,800 A/h | 4 Hz
    Jewels: 36
    Power reserve: 7 days (168 h)
    Winding system: Pellaton automatic
WATCH
    Materials: 18-carat White Gold case.
    Dial: Midnight blue dial
    White gold hands and appliqués coated with Super-LumiNova®, gold-plated star display.
    Glass: Sapphire glass, convex, antireflective coating on both sides
    Water-resistant: 6 bar
    Diameter: 46 mm
    Height: 15.5 mm
STRAP
Dark brown matte calfskin strap by Santoni, 18-carat white gold folding clasp

Unique piece special:
limited to 250 pieces

* IWC Schaffhausen is not the owner of the Super-LumiNova® trademark.

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Further Information
Clemens von Walzel
Department Manager Public Relations
Tel. +41 (0)52 235 79 29
E-mail clemens.vonwalzel@iwc.com
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Press releases 2016
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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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