Ben's Photos from SIHH 2019

I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to join the IWC family in
Geneva for the International Watch Company's biggest launch event of the year
and excited to share some of the images I was able to capture. The watches are
always amzaing to see for the first time but the people really make this such
an extraodinary
experience. Hopefully I am able to convey a little bit of the magic that is
SIHH:

Arriving in Geneva:

The train station at the airport and also Palexpo where SIHH is held.
Travelling in and out of this staion was a daily routine during the week for
many of us:

My humble abode in Old Town Geneva (building on the left):

The first night I met up with the first arrivals. from left to right, our
spectacular forum moderator, Tonny, long time forum member Nad, and myself:

Geneva at night:

Arriving the first day at SIHH, quite a line at registration to pick up my
badge:

The halls of SIHH are already abuzz:

My first glimpse of the IWC novelties in the hall windows:

And my first glimpse of the IWC booth, complete with the original Spitfire
that is being completely refurbished to fly around the world for "The longest
Flight."

Meeting old and new freinds for the first time. And some rare and amazing
watches they brought with them. Here is SC Fongs's Big Pilot 5003 and Clem
Ho's (on my wrist) Big Pilot "Safari."

Caught IWC forum member and Redbar founder Adam Carniotes in the hall with a
nice gift from IWC for the press; a full set of patches for his flight jacket:

Later I met up with a few colectors for a nice dinner at Cafe de Paris for
their famous entrecote. From left to right: Mark Fleminger, myself, Clem Ho
and our moderator, Tonny Berteloot. IWC execs had a large able at the
restaurant as well and caused quite a rucous - must have been pretty excited
about having such a successful first day - as well as the best booth at the
show!

Reached my 15 photo per post limit, more to come...

Great pics, Ben. I'm looking forward to the continuation. I hope to attend
this event one day!

Brilliant
pics as always Ben. And Thank You IWC for the opportunity to attend
this fantastic event. I describe it to my friends as the party of the year!!

Can't wait to see more.

Well said Ben and great pics!! I hope to get a chance to post mine soon.

I am/was truly honoured to have been selected to participate. While the
watches were the centre piece of the event, it was the people who made this
such an epic and memorable experience for me.

Ben, excellent report and photos of an event that is a true honor to be
invigted to attend. Thaks for taking me along on the journey in 2019.

Thanks a lot Ben for the pictures so far. It was great to see you and all the
other guys again at the SIHH. It is indeed a highlight of the year!

Jens-Kristian

A beautiful morning in Geneva:

And a walk down to my shuttle bus stop:

Back at SIHH:

At the IWC booth various friends of the brand are arriving to visit the booth
and see the new collection:

I was able to visit with the amazing Kurt Klaus, creator of IWC's perpetual
calendar and Dr. David Seyffer, IWC museum curator exrodinaire:

Later that evening, it was on to the IWC gala:

At the Gala:

IWC CEO Christoph Grainger-Herr with the two pilots who will fly the Silver
Spitfire around the world, British pilots Matt Jones and Steve Boultbee-
Brooks:

And the collectors:

After dinner photo with the ever gracious Karolina Kurkova and the Spitfire
that actually "flew in" under it's own power!

More to come...

Fantastic photos Ben - love seeing them!

The way IWC embraces and celebrates the collectors community is second to
none. I consider myself very lucky to have been able to attend.

However - and this will sound corny, but I don't intend it that way - I
consider myself luckier to have made such good friendships via the forum. I
hope to see and meet more collectors in many years to come!

Many thanks for sharing!

Ok, here we go, the big day - Collector's Day! Another beautiful morning in
Geneva

This time as collectors arrive at the booth, we are invited to the upper
level:

Dr. David Seyffer giving us a tour of the booth and explaing some of the
historical watches on display:

And a visit to "The LAB at SIHH to learn about IWC's exciting new material,
Ceratanium, from one of the creators:

Next on the schedule we adjourned to one of the on-site restaurants for lunch:

Hit my daily limit - more to come...

Thank you so much for the wonderful photos and description Ben. I hope I can
get the opportunity to attend next year.

Greetings my friend.

Aki

What a great trip and amazing time! thanks for sharing the pics ben!

Great report Ben, than you so much for sharing!

And now for the watches... One of the highlights of the whole experience, of
course, is the chance to touch and feel the IWC novelties. After lunch we were
ushered into a private "viewing room" inside the IWC booth where we were given
a presentation on the new watches and then allowed to try them on and take
photos. Kids in a candy store:

My "old" watch from 1996 on the right compared to the new Spitfire chronograph
in bronze, sharing similar dimensions:

Hit my limit again. Kind of like a slow reveal...but hopefully it keeps you
coming back. More to come!

After Mark makes his final desicion, we head to the bar for a refreshment:

Later, a walk home to get ready for the Collector's Dinner.

Collectors arrive early at the IWC boutique, located next to Les Aviateurs
where we will have dinner. I am fortunate to see some of Ralph E's fantastic
pocket watches he brought along:

And then on to dinner:

The informal setting was just perfect for allowing IWC collectors to mingle
and interact with one another and with the IWC executives who took the time
from their incredibly busy schedule to meet with us (It's OK, Andreas, I won't
get you with your mouth full):

Still more to come - hit the limit already (must be 30 photos in a 24hour
period?).

Great photos, thank you.

Tonny gave a very nice speech - he kept it short and sweet and did not
embarrass me;)

After dinner, a nightcap at Andrew's place - Andrew, thank you for you great
hospiltality!

A couple of rare birds:

And a late walk home.

Bonus coverage - those of us who stuck it out Thursday met up once again for a
final dinner, the traditoional "unoffical collector's dinner" at Les Armures:

And finally a table shot:

Thank you IWC for giving us the oppurtunty to attend such a special gathering
of friends and family - an experience I truly treasure!

That is an outstanding report Ben! I enjoyed every minute viewing it and even
though I was not there, a huge thanks to IWC for inviting every year
collectors to their event!

Patrick

Thanks a lot for the report and all the great pictures. Kinda feels like I
have been there, too. =)

Hope I can make it next year, too .... looks really fun!

Thank you, Ben, for sharing your photos and experience. Yeah, I think I catch
a glimpse of what was it like :))