IWC’s New $16,600 Limited-Edition Watch Both Looks Good and Does Good
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In the 15 years since the Swiss watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen began working with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, the partnership has resulted in over a dozen special-edition watches whose proceeds have helped fund more than 200 programs around the world that rely on sports-related community development initiatives to address social challenges.
Unveiled Monday, the Portugieser Hand-Wound Monopusher Edition “Laureus Sport for Good” is the 14th special edition to join the collection. Limited to 500 pieces, the model—which belongs to IWC’s most classic and complicated family of timepieces—marks the first time the brand has produced a Portugieser with a monopusher chronograph. The feature allows the chronograph to be started, stopped and reset with a single push-button integrated with the crown. The recorded time is displayed on the subdial at 12 o’clock.
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Like all of the brand’s annual limited edition Laureus watches, this one has a characteristic “Laureus blue” dial with rhodium-plated hands and appliques. It also features another Laureus signature: a case back engraved with a winning design from the annual IWC drawing competition for Laureus project participants.
This year’s winner, 15-year old Yi Xin from China, a participant in the “Special Olympics China” program, created a drawing featuring “a moving portrayal of friendship,” according to IWC. The Laureus-supported project trains children and adults with mental disabilities in Olympic sports disciplines.
The 46 mm stainless steel model is powered by the IWC-manufactured hand-wound 59360 caliber, which has an eight-day power reserve and comes on a black Santoni alligator leather strap. It retails for $16,600.
IWC’s relationship with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation stems from its parent company, Compagnie Financière Richemont SA, the Swiss luxury goods holding company that, together with Daimler AG, the premiere German automotive manufacturer, established the organization in 1999. Mercedes Benz and IWC are its two current supporting partners.
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