Special meeting on 8 October in Milan, organised by IWC in collaboration with L'Orologio Club. In an exceptional location, the Salone dei Tessuti in Milan, once a warehouse used for storing and quality control of textiles, owned by the Galtrucco family, and now used to host events and shows related to the world of fashion but not only, 16 members of the Club put themselves to the test with a watchmaking class that tested their skills in terms of disassembling and reassembling a movement, under the guidance of Ferdinando Mavellia, trainer of the House of Schaffhausen, and watchmaker Paolo Goldaniga.
The one they handled was the IWC 98200 calibre, a variant of the 18,000 vib/h 982 calibre, which equipped the Portuguese 'German edition' between 1977 and 1981.
The experience was preceded by a journey of discovery of the brand and IWC's specialisations in pilot's watches and hi-tech ceramics. In addition to the watchmaking class, in fact, the Milan event showcased a number of historical pieces belonging to the manufacture's museum, illustrated by director David Seyffer. Among them was the B-Uhr made in 1940 by the International Watch Company for the German Air Force, which was the inspiration for the Pilot's Watch collection launched in 2002.
And, dulcis in fundo, it allowed participants to touch a wide selection of models, with a focus on Top Gun models made of Ceratanium - IWC's patented ceramic - in colours created exclusively by Pantone.
But the most prized model that guests were able to handle at this meeting was the Portuguese Siderale Scafusia: a tourbillon with an integrated constant-force mechanism, perpetual calendar and personalised celestial chart on the case back, showing - among other things - sunrise, sunset and sidereal time. The event was accompanied by a luncheon attended by guests together with IWC officials.
