IWC and Sotheby’s Auction Pilot’s Watch to Support The Antoine de Saint-Exupery Youth Foundation
IWC Schaffhausen auctioned a Big Pilot’s Watch Single Piece with a one-of-a-kind engraving. The online auction was organized by Sotheby’s and the special timepiece garnered an outstanding winning bid of USD 60,000.
The Swiss luxury watch manufacturer will donate its full proceeds from the auction to the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation, helping it support the Association Arrimage.
Ten days ago, IWC Schaffhausen announced a unique charity project. While attending the Academy Awards®ceremony, IWC brand ambassador Bradley Cooper wore a Big Pilot’s Watch Single Piece (Ref. IW500923) to be auctioned by Sotheby’s. The Big Pilot’s Watch features a unique engraving of the iconic quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s famous novel, The Little Prince, on the back of its 18-carat 5N gold case – “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly” – creating a link to the charitable cause that the auction supports.
IWC Schaffhausen will donate its full proceeds from the sale to benefit the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation, helping it to support the Association Arrimage in Nice, France. The association was established by Dr Claude Garrandès, a blind French artist, teacher and publisher. One of its major projects focuses on teaching visually-impaired children how to read drawings in two-dimensional relief through the sense of touch. For this project, the association uses the first-ever tactile art book of embossed illustrations of “The Little Prince,” accompanied by descriptions in Braille in both French and English. The book was created by Claude Garrandès Editions and Arrimage with the support of the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation. Thanks to unique teaching tools created by Arrimage, blind and low-vision children also have the opportunity to learn how to draw themselves. Arrimage regularly organizes workshops with visually-impaired children and adolescents. The next workshops will take place in March 2019 in Asia (Bangkok and Hong Kong).
