What is the most precious element of any watch brand? Its manufacture? Its skilled employees? Its brand ambassadors? Its boutiques? Martin Green thinks that it’s none of those, because the most important asset of a brand is its so-called DNA. Here he explains how brands better used their DNA at the 2018 edition of the SIHH.
Martin Green took three catalogs from IWC – the 1989, 1993, and 1996/97 editions – noting the differences between them and the current market. This is a journey full of surprises, forgotten watches, unknown treasures, and a shocking realization of how fast horological evolution has progressed.
We know that Michael Jordan, six-time NBA Champion with the Chicago Bulls, likes IWC timepieces as he was wearing a platinum Big Pilot when he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. At the 2019 NBA All-Star press conference, Jordan sported another watch from the line: a limited edition red gold Big Pilot’s Watch Annual Calendar Antoine De Saint Exupéry.
Liverpool F.C. leads the Premier League table at the halfway point of the 2018-2019 soccer season, currently managed by the enthusiastic Jürgen Klopp, who has recently been wearing an IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month Edition “50 Years Aquatimer.” In second place is Tottenham Hotspur F.C., coached by Mauricio Pochettino, who also wears an IWC.
Giuseppe Conte is the current prime minister of Italy. In July, Conte met with his U.S. counterpart, President Donald Trump, in Washington, D.C. and visited the White House. While there, we were afforded a clear view of the timepiece that Conte wore: an IWC Portofino Automatic.
Jason Statham is starring in an upcoming film opening in August 2018 called ‘The Meg,’ which is about a species of prehistoric shark called the megalodon, thought to be extinct. Since the film is based around the ocean, Statham chose an appropriate diver’s watch for his character: an IWC Aquatimer Chronograph Edition called La Cumbre Volcano.
When it comes to pilot’s watches, IWC pretty much coined the term. However, as Martin Green reports, where the former IWC Top Gun watches were generally well received, the Top Gun Miramar changed things up a bit, and the result was far more polarizing. Find out much more about the histories of Top Gun, Miramar, and IWC pilot’s watches in this story.
When it comes to selecting a watch for the purposes of getting the job done, there are three qualities that must be looked for: simple, robust, and reliable. And no movement can be more greatly heralded on all three qualities than IWC’s Caliber 89 according to watchmaker Ashton Tracy.
What is the most precious element of any watch brand? Its manufacture? Its skilled employees? Its brand ambassadors? Its boutiques? Martin Green thinks that it’s none of those, because the most important asset of a brand is its so-called DNA. Here he explains how brands better used their DNA at the 2018 SIHH.
In light of the extraordinary and rare astronomical treat of a super blue blood moon taking place on January 31, 2018, I decided to take a closer look at the new IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Moon Phase Edition 150 Years, which was introduced as part of the Jubilee Collection at the 2018 SIHH.