GENEVA.- Sotheby’s renews its collaboration with the prestigious watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen, and will present a stunning unique wristwatch at auction, to benefit the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation. The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Annual Calendar Edition, “Antoine de Saint Exupéry” Unique Piece (Ref. IW502709) will be offered during the sale of Important Watches in Geneva on 13 November. This beautiful piece in white gold features an elegant tobacco-brown dial and its rotor takes the form of a Lockheed P-38 Lightning plane – the model of airplane which Antoine de Saint-Exupéry piloted on his last flight, a fateful reconnaissance mission in 1944. This Unique Piece embodies the spirit of the famous pilot and beloved author of “The Little Prince”.

IWC Schaffhausen will donate their full proceeds from the sale to the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Foundation, helping it to support the association Arrimage. Among numerous projects, this institution conducts pioneering art and educational workshops allowing visually-impaired children to have access for the very first time to the original illustrations of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's "The Little Prince" by teaching them how to read drawings through the sense of touch.

Speaking ahead of the auction, Mikael Wallhagen, Head of the Watch Division for Sotheby’s in Geneva, said, “We are delighted to strengthen our long-standing collaboration with IWC Schaffhausen and their master watchmakers, who in this unique piece have produced a complex and beautifully crafted symbol of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s pioneering spirit. It is a privilege to offer this one-of-a-kind watch in our upcoming sale and to support the important work of the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation, helping future generations to aim high and pursue their dreams.”

Christoph Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen, commented, “We are pleased to partner with Sotheby’s again this year for the sixth auction of an exclusive IWC watch, and we are happy that we can support the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation and its projects.”

THE “ANTOINE DE SAINT EXUPÉRY” UNIQUE PIECE
The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch with Annual Calendar, dubbed the “Antoine de Saint-Exupéry” is realised in white 18-carat gold and is entirely unique. Its design commemorates the French author and aviator with the letter “A.” for Antoine on the dial. Its tobacco-brown dial and calfskin strap by Santoni were inspired by Saint-Exupéry’s flight suit. The watch features an Annual Calendar showing the month, date and day of the week. Its in-house 52850 calibre has two barrels to provide the higher torque required to drive the three display discs and they also supply enough energy for a full 7 days’ power reserve, shown on a subsidiary dial at “3 o’clock”. The sapphire –glass case back provides an unimpeded view of the exquisite IWC-manufactured movement 52850 calibre, the rotor in the shape of a plane and the various decorations on the plates and bridges.

ANNUAL CALENDAR
IWC’s in-house calibre 52850 features the annual calendar that is located at “12 o’clock” on the dial, which shows the month, date and day in three separate windows. The mechanism automatically takes into account the differing lengths of individual months, except in the case of leap days in February or leap years. Manual adjustment is required just once a year at the end of February, and the correction can be made simply, via the crown.

THE “BIG CROWN”: ESSENTIAL TOOL AND DESIGN FEATURE
Going back to the early days of aviation, the’ Big Crown’ of the Pilot’s watch was created for pilots who had to face the worst of the elements in open or unheated cockpits. The oversized crown made it possible for pilots to set and wind their watch even while wearing a padded flight suit and thick gloves.

THE PROJECT
IWC Schaffhausen will donate their full proceeds from the sale to support the initiatives of the Nice-based association, Arrimage, which was set up by Dr Claude Garrandes, a blind French artist, teacher and publisher. One of its main projects is to teach visually-impaired children how to read drawings in two-dimensional relief through the sense of touch, using the first-ever tactile book of embossed illustrations of “The Little Prince”, accompanied by descriptions in Braille in both French and English. The book was created with the support of the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation, which carries out various projects around the world to improve the everyday lives of underprivileged young people and to offer them a better future. Thanks to unique pedagogical tools created by Arrimage, blind and low-vision children are also given the opportunity to learn how to draw themselves.