IWC Schaffhausen announces the exclusive Big Pilot’s Watch Edition Antoine de Saint Exupéry in platinum to go on auction at Sotheby’s in Geneva

Luxury Swiss watchmaker IWC announced that the one-of-a-kind platinum edition of the IWC Big Pilot - Antoine de Saint Exupéry will be auctioned off by Sotheby's on May 9th, 2010 in Geneva. The auction called "Important Watches" will take place at the Hotel Beau Rivage from 8:00pm onwards. Sotheby's will be exhibiting all watches included in the auction in several cities. Unfortunately only the exhibitions in Geneva and Hong Kong will be open to public.

The Big Pilot’s Watch Edition Antoine de Saint Exupéry in platinum is an exclusive icon of Swiss-manufactured aviator watches that is highly distinctive both in terms of looks and functionality. Its sporty elegance features a high-caliber platinum watch case, tobacco brown dial and a special back engraving depicting Saint Exupéry as a military pilot. Its classic functionality and superior mechanical properties also set this watch apart. The IWC-manufactured 51111 caliber with automatic Pellaton winding, 7-day power reserve, power reserve display, Breguet spring and date display make this novel timepiece one of the best in its
class, a fact reflected in its reserve price.

The auction will open on 9 May in Geneva at the Hotel Beau Rivage, and the Big Pilot’s Watch Edition Antoine de Saint Exupéry in platinum will be auctioned together with a special edition of the Saint Exupéry biography “L’archange et l’écrivain” by Nathalie Des Vallières at a reserve price of CHF 50,000. The entire proceeds from the auction of this timepiece will be donated by IWC Schaffhausen to the French organization “Enfants du Monde/Droits de l’Homme” (EMDH), which works worldwide to protect children and their rights. In particular, IWC supports projects in Madagascar, where EMDH has been working together with local partners since 1994 to help disadvantaged children.

IWC watches are available exclusively in Nashville, TN and Miami, FL at King Jewelers. For more information regarding IWC watches and the IWC Big Pilot - Antoine de Saint Exupéry, please visit http://www.iwc.com/ and http://www.kings1912.com/.

Luxury Sport Watch of the Year: IWC Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph

The winner of King Jeweler’s Luxury Sport Watch of the Year as released at the SIHH 2010 show hosted in Geneva during late January, IWC triumphs with release of the Yacht Club collection back in the iconic Portuguese case. The 45.4mm Yacht Club Chronograph is the first sporty IWC model in the Portuguese family and houses IWC’s manufacture caliber 89360. Its chronograph permits the recording of aggregate times of up to twelve hours on the common counter for the minutes and hours and can be reset to zero via the flyback function at any time while running, so that it is instantly ready to start measuring a new time.

Designed for nautical duty, a screw-in crown and crown protection help protect against the elements, and the case offers 6 bar water resistance. Consistent with the sporty theme, this watch has luminescent indices and hands – a first in the Portuguese family.

The Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph is available in three variants: 1) steel with a silver-plated dial, rhodium-plated luminescent hands and appliqués; 2) steel with a black dial, silver-plated flange and rhodium-plated hands and appliqués, also luminescent; 3) 18 carat red gold with a slate-colored dial with a sun pattern ground finish, subtly contrasted by the black small seconds display circle and the black ring for the aggregate minutes of the chronograph. This model is distinguished additionally by gold-plated hands and solid red gold appliqués. All three variants are worn on a black rubber strap with a folding clasp. The sapphire-glass back offers a clear view of the IWC-manufactured movement with double-pawl winding.

Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph Specifications
Movement: Calibre 89360
- Beats: 28,800/h- Jewels: 40- Power reserve: 68 h- Winding: automatic
Glass: sapphire, convex, anti-reflective coating on both sides
Back: see-through sapphire-glass back
Crown: screw-in
Water-resistant to 6 bar
Diameter 45.4mm
Height 14.5mm

The IWC Yacht Club Chronograph is priced at $12,600 in steel and $23,100 in red gold (USD). The Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph will be available at IWC boutiques in June. King Jewelers is proud to offer the IWC Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph collection in September, but will allow collectors a first-hand glimpse at King Jeweler’s Nashville Watch Fair to be hosted April 23rd and 24th at King Jewelers in Green Hills, TN. For more info, visit http://www.kings1912.com/ or http://www.iwc.com/.

KING JEWELERS FIRST RETAILER IN COUNTRY TO HOST NORTH AMERICAN DEBUT OF NEW TIMEPIECES FROM THE GENEVA 2010 WATCH FAIR AT THE NASHVILLE WATCH FAIR

King Jewelers will host the North American debut of its second annual Nashville Watch Fair “The Fair After the Fair,” an exclusive sneak peak at the new and exciting Swiss timepieces from the Geneva 2010 watch fairs held earlier this year. The King Jewelers’ Watch Fair will be hosted starting April 23 and April 24 from 10 a.m. to 6:30 pm at the store located at 4121 Hillsboro Road in Nashville.

Authorized dealers representing more than 20 luxury Swiss watch brands featuring more than 1,000 timepieces will participate and the King family is proud to present these exclusive never seen before collections and one of a kind pieces to the Central South. The timepieces will include once in a lifetime exquisite prototypes which may not ever be manufactured by these companies, providing an even more special experience for watch aficionados and collectors.

Guests will enjoy daily festivities and gifts with purchase, for example, all Swiss Army watches come with a complimentary Swiss Army knife as a gift with purchase and be among the first to wear haute horology’s most sought-after wristwatches for 2010. King Jewelers is also pleased to announce its representation of the exclusive ladies MIKOMOTO pearl jewelry collection and will preview the newest pieces with a trunk show during both days of the Watch Fair.

Among the hottest timepieces from the 2010 Geneva and Basel Watch Fairs are the IWC Portuguese Yacht watches, all of the new TAG Heuer Grand Carrera collection, the release of Cartier’s Calibere collection, the Hublot King Power Alinghi, and Jaquet Droz one-of-a-kind collections. TAG Heuer is celebrating its 150th anniversary and Bell & Ross will showcase its new Vintage collection.

The watch brands, many of which are carried exclusively by King Jewelers across the state, include Alpina, Bell & Ross, Breitling, Breitling for Bentley, BRM, Bulgari, Cartier, Chanel, Chopard, Concord, Franc Vila, Frederique Constant, Girard-Perregaux, Hublot, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Jaquet Droz, Michele, Montblanc, TAG Heuer, TAG Heuer Grand Carrera, TechnoMarine, and Tissot.

“The Watch Fair allows our guests from Nashville and beyond to view the most elite and unique Swiss timepieces for the first time,” said David King, brand manager of King Jewelers. “This annual event is one of the most distinctive ever offered to the Nashville community. Watch collectors wait with bated breath to glimpse these new offerings.”

In 1893, Kokichi Mikimoto succeeded in producing the world’s first cultured pearl. Since that day, MIKIMOTO continues to make history, creating its own distinctive style. MIKIMOTO has developed the highest standards of quality and consistency by devoting more than a century to understanding the sea and researching the oyster. Only the top five percent of the pearl harvest meets the strict quality standards of MIKIMOTO. A proprietary pearl grading system measures the quality of each MIKIMOTO pearl. This unique grading system provides the standard of excellence that distinguishes MIKIMOTO pearls from all others. Visit http://www.mikimotoamerica.com/ for more information.

King Jewelers, South Florida’s oldest and most reputable jeweler, continues its legacy of luxury in its jewelry and watch gallery store in Green Hills. The company spans five generations and the South Florida location opened in 1912. King Jewelers is a member of the Jewelers of America, American Watch Guild, Jewelers Board of Trade, International Wristwatch Leading Watch Retailer, and the American Society of Appraisers and has among its staff GIA Certified Gemologists. The store is located at 4121 Hillsboro Road at the corner of Hobbs Road and hours of operation are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. The telephone number is (615) 724-5464 and the web site is www.Kings1912.com.