Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (July 4): Luxury watch enthusiasts would not want to miss the IWC Pilot’s Watches Exhibition in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, held in conjunction with the re-opening of the flagship boutique by Malaysia’s leading fine watch retailer Swiss Watch Gallery and partner IWC Schaffenhausen.

The grand unveiling of the exhibition on July 2 inaugurated the opening of the redesigned IWC boutique in Pavilion — the third in Southeast Asia after Bangkok and Manila to implement the Swiss watchmaker’s latest global boutique design concept.

The cocktail event was attended by some 250 guests including customers and partners, industry captains, as well as A-list celebrities and socialites.

Also gracing the event was IWC’s spokesman and director Hannes Pantli, IWC Southeast Asia managing director Stanislas Rambaud, Pavilion Retail chief executive officer Datuk Joyce Yap and Valiram executive directors Ashvin and Mukesh Valiram.

“The newly revamped and relocated IWC boutique marks a landmark moment for Swiss Watch Gallery, continuing and further consolidating the amazing partnership we have had since we opened the first and only standalone IWC boutique in Malaysia,” said Ashvin Valiram of Kuala Lumpur-based luxury retail group Valiram, which owns and operates Swiss Watch Gallery, in a statement.

“We are indeed proud to co-host this one-of-a-kind exhibition in conjunction with the official opening of the flagship boutique. This is the first time Swiss Watch Gallery is having an exhibition of this magnitude dedicated to a single brand and it’s our honour to do this with IWC,” he added.

Visitors have until July 9 to appreciate the beauty of 12 defining historical creations by the Swiss watchmaker that have made their mark in the aviation world, alongside its new collection of Pilot’s watches including sub-liners Spitfire and Top Gun.

Iconic pieces include IWC’s most emblematic creations — “Special Watch for Pilots” and the Mark 11 — and its historical and defining pieces such as the first Big Pilot’s Watch from the 1940, and the famed W.W.W for the British Army from 1945.

Another highlight is the Ref. 3705 Pilot’s Watch Chronograph from 1994, which is IWC’s first Pilot’s Watch and second timepiece to be crafted from high-tech ceramic.

IWC's Pavilion boutique store is also impressive in itself. A brilliant centrepiece, based on the design of IWC’s ground-breaking Perpetual Calendar mechanism invented by master watchmaker Kurt Klaus in the early 1980s, unfolds behind a plush lounge area.

The innate elegance that IWC’s watches are known for is captured effortlessly in the boutique’s shining new interiors that features a mix of soft grey and white walls, dark Macassar wood, as well custom display showcases in glass and polished steel.

Thoughtful curated feature walls, reminiscent of library bookshelves found in exclusive gentlemen’s clubs, from the 1920s and 1930s, bring to life the emotional narratives that surround IWC’s six iconic families — Pilot’s Watches, Portugieser, Portofino, Da Vincci, Aquatimer and Ingenieur.

IWC, said its South East Asia managing director Stanislas Rambaud, is one of the few luxury watchmakers who pride themselves on developing emotional connections that go beyond the product.

“In the same way the brand supercharges its six watch families with compelling stories, we are constantly rethinking ways to enrich overall visitor experience within our boutiques for returning clients, as well as those discovering our brand for the first time. The timely relocation and revamp of our flagship boutique is an exemplary showcase of that commitment,” he said.

“And in conjunction with this reopening we are honoured to showcase, for the first time in Malaysia, the precision engineering and ongoing innovation that have kept our Pilot's Watches at the forefront of watchmaking,” he added.

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