Clem's SIHH 2019 in pictures

THE PILGRIMAGE

Prior to leaving for SIHH/Geneva there was some interest from/for those with
availability in their schedule to make a pilgrimage to the IWC
Mothership/HQ/Museum and the new Manufakturzentrum. Much thanks belong to Mark
F for spearheading the initiative and to Clizia and Dr. Seyffer from IWC for
making the arragements for our visit. Sadly there was a little caveat.... we
needed to be in Schaffhausen by 9:00 ish AM to meet our guide and
trasportation for a 9:30 tour booking at the Manufakturzentrum. To make this
work we needed to catch the 4:51 AM train for a four hour ride to
Schaffhausen.

So now I have this curse that where no matter where it is or where I'm going,
I cannot sleep the night before a trip. Normally this isn't an issue except
for the fact that my cough/cold has progressed to the point that I've lost
about 85-90% of my voice.... my travel mates likely won't be complaining about
that. ;-)

No matter what I'm not missing this trip. SIHH has already checked of so many
items on my bucket list and this trip to Schaffhausen will check off so many
more.
I will tough this out and I'm glad I did.....

As much as it would have been great to experience this trip with the entire
Collectors Group, I couldn't have asked for better travel companions.

On the morning train from L to R: myself, Black Sheep Hemsworth, St. John and
Mark F (along with some unimpressed and unenthusiastic commuters)

The beautiful Swiss countryside and a GORGEOUS sunrise over the Rheinfall

After a quick pee break (a funny interchange with an Irish fellow about the
merits of leaving the Commonwealth and removing the Queen from our respective
currencies in the public washroom..) and a coffee and pastry we make our way
to the Mothership....

To be continued..... once my daily image limit resets......

Arrival at the mothership... and the Manufakturzentrum... cue cliched but
necessary
photos...

Mark F. with a little Canadian tribute..

A little discountinued piece of kit from the Top Gun case back that's near and
dear to my heart.

The tour of the Manufakturzentrum is an amazing experience. The opportunity to
see how our beloved watches are made is one not to be missed. The factory has
a beautiful modern design and architecture and it's layout, from a
manufacturing standpoint has a beautiful continous "flow". (assuming you're
interested in those things) What's even more amazing is that this layout also
allows visitors while minimizing the interupption of it's employees.... that
is until a group of fanatics stroll in and have to look and "try" to touch
almost everything....

What's also very interesting about the Manufakturzentrum layout is how it
allows vistors to also have a hands on experience as well. We weren't
fortunate enough to have a watch making course available to us but we were
allowed "hands on" at certain stations throughout the manufacture. From
applying perlage to a main plate or setting jewels to seeing what a
watchmaker's station looks like and taking silly pictures.

A little game at the jewel setting station. Who can flip over the smallest
jewel. I won ;-)

I don't think any of us passed...

Another highlight of the day was running into my twinsie Erwin and Markus
Buhler.... ahem... The bald-fecta

The "Watchmaker(s)"

To be continued...

As our tour came to a close we must take a few more cliched but necessary
photos....

Maybe not watchmakers but we could be some damn fine wrist models...

The rush of excitement from our visit can't be contained..

We returned back to the mothership for our self guided tour of the museum and
more cliched
but necessary photos...

Guestbook signed. Mission accomplished!

Shorties to the back please. Also take note that Mark F is standing on the
highest step...

Attempting to sync our watches to the position of the sun..

To end the day we headed to Guterhof Restaurant for a late-ish lunch.

After lunch the rest of the crew decided they wanted to trek up some steps to
a higher point in the city for some allegedly spectacular views. I had been in
contact with Haval, one of IWC's watchmakers, who due to illness couldn't make
the trek to SIHH but would love to meet up for a tea/drink while we were in
town. This gave me a great excuse not to go coupled with the fact that by this
time my lack of sleep/cough/cold/laryngitis had gotten the better of me and I
needed a rest. When the crew returned, they proceeded to tell me that this was
"the BEST part of the entire trip to Schaffhausen". I think they're just
jerks.

The parting shot of our visit with Haval

At this point it's time to say "Auf Wiedersehen" to Schaffhausen for the 4
hour journey back to Geneva.

One final dinner at Cafe de Paris before we part ways and return to our
respective homes. Most of us are flying out the next day and it was great to
have one last meal together.

I cannot stress more how much this trip is about the people. As Bill said it's
"place to meet old and about
to be new friends" and he couldn't be more correct.

Again thank you to the powers that be that selected me to be one of the
attendees. Thank you to IWC and it's employees for not only taking the time
but making the time to host your greatest fans. Most importantly, thank you to
all of the Collectors in attendance and all of the other people I met along
the way for making this a trip of a lifetime for me. I hope I am privileged
enough to have and be a part of this experience for someone else once again.

OK now I'm done. No one has to read my rambling commentary anymore. ;-)

What a thoughtful and in depth report Clem. I loved reading it and re-living
the incredible journey we experienced.

Excellent report, Thank you.

Thank you very much for this great and lively report. I enjoyed it very much
and was always lookink forward to the contination! Great job!

Philipp

Thanks for including us.

Great report Clem.

Cheers,

sc

Lovely read.

Already looking forward to next year !