Go For (Triple) Gold At IWC’s Boutiques

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We’ve told you about the IWC Flagship Boutique New York City, and today we have a few special watches that you can only find at a handful of global boutiques (New York included). Here we have the Boutique Exclusive Edition collection, which includes a Portuguese Hand-Wound, a Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar and an Ingenieur Automatic, all rendered in beautiful red gold.

Not only have red and rose gold been experiencing a massive surge in popularity, but we have also noticed more and more nuanced shades of gold popping up in watches. Everything from the barely pink to the deep rich red. The later is what you’ll find in all three Boutique Exclusive Edition watches. 

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The first two watches in the collection are both time-only, but they couldn’t be more different. The 44mm Portuguese Hand-Wound houses IWC’s 98295 caliber, reminiscent of the pocket watch movements used in the original Portuguese watches of the 1930s. The simple white dial is complemented nicely by the red gold hands and arabic numerals that match the case. Only one thousand pieces will be available worldwide.

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The slightly smaller 42.5mm Ingenieur Automatic is the second watch in the collection, and it features a rich brown dial with red gold accents to compliment the red gold case. This is one you’ve really got to see in person to appreciate fully, as the subtle contrasts shift with the light. Slightly more limited than the Portuguese above, the Ingenieur Automatic Boutique Exclusive Edition will only be made in an edition of five hundred pieces.

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Finally, the highlight is the Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar. Coming in at 46.2mm, the red gold case houses the caliber 51614 automatic perpetual calendar movement with a 7-day power reserve (helpful for keeping your perpetual wound). The red gold-plated dial is an absolute stunner aesthetically and the crown-setting mechanism for the perpetual calendar is just as impressive technically. Still more limited than the previous two models, only 250 pieces of this special edition will be made.

-HODINKEE for IWC Schaffhausen

IWC’s One Year Anniversary In New York City

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It’s tough to believe, but it was only a year ago that IWC’s flagship boutique opened its doors on New York City’s Madison Avenue. In a short period of time the IWC boutique has become an anchor of the New York watch community.

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Over the last year the Madison Avenue flagship has played host to a number of diverse events. These include collectors events drawing dedicated IWC collectors together for evenings of product previews as well as cocktail parties co-hosted with the likes of GQ and Esquire, drawing stylish men from around the New York area. 

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Of course there was also the recent launch of the special Portuguese watches developed for the Tribeca Film Festival, including the Portuguese Automatic Edition Tribeca Film Festival 2013 and the Portuguese Tribute To The Tribeca Film Institute piece-unique. The red carpet was rolled out, drinks were poured, and these two special watches were the stars of the show. 

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Even on a typical day, IWC on Madison Avenue is more than your run of the mill boutique. It is a beautiful setting where you can relax and read a book (there is a great selection on hand), take a look at Howard Bingham’s iconic Muhammad Ali photographs, or, if you’re so inclined, check out different watch families in different corners of the boutique.

The photos here are a selection from our sneak peak photo report delivered a year ago just before the boutique opened to the public. Be sure to check out the full report here

-HODINKEE for IWC Schaffhausen