CLOSING THE TRILOGY

TIME This year’s Da Vinci collection strengthens the IWC Schaffhausen family tree with another ladies offering.

The origins of IWC Schaffhausen as a watchmaker is one which is rooted in both the sexes. “In the 1870s, we were already making ladies’ timepieces,” says Franziska Gsell, the brand’s chief marketing officer. In the more recent epoch, the brand had produced diamond pieces in the decades between 1920 and 1950, while the Da Vinci Lady Chronograph of 1988 boasted the smallest movement of its era. In more recent times, the renaissance of ladies’ references at IWC Schaffhausen was motivated by an indication that ladies were buying the Portugieser for its strength in character.

“This led us to the Portofino 37mm in 2014 and a reworked 36mm Pilot, both of which were very attractive to the ladies,” Gsell adds. “This year, the trilogy is complete with something a bit more mature in theme.” The Da Vinci collection of 2017 offers several references for the fairer sex, chiefly, the Da Vinci Automatic 36 and the Da Vinci Automatic Moon Phase 36. Behind these two pieces, one finds a symbol engraved to depict the Flower of Life, a geometrical pattern of overlapping circles which also harks back to mathematical and universal rules. This motif appears in, among other literature, Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus.

Crafted in a choice of red gold, stainless steel with a diamond bezel and a stainless steel case, the Da Vinci Automatic Moon Phase (RM73,200) offers a gold-andblue lunar display and, in the case of the red gold model, is matched with a bronze-coloured alligator leather strap by Santoni. “The interesting part of watch ownership is that there is no rational reason for it,” Gsell says. “It’s a sheer beauty which mankind knows how to appreciate – because it is craftsmanship done by human beings, there is an emotion which renews itself and stays eternal.” www.iwc.com Δ