Jewelry & Watches

IWC Schaffhausen through David Seyffer

Since he started his career at IWC Schaffhausen in 2007, David Seyffer got immersed in the history of the house to become a reference in this field. This actually comes as no surprise for a doctoral graduate in History of Natural Science, Technics and History.

At the 2018 edition of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, Azyaamode sat down with David Seyffer, IWC Curator Museum, to discuss the novelties, the importance of tradition for the House and much more.

Can you tell us a bit about this year’s novelties?

This year, there were 28 new references that we presented at the booth and for me as a historian, it is very important to say that this is very much related to our heritage. I think it fits perfectly in the 150 years. So this is great for us, because when the design was made for these watches, the team of creative center came to us and wanted to experience the watches. They wanted to touch and feel. It was absolutely a very proud moment for the team museum. And if you looked in the booth at the vintage watches and saw the new collection, you will understand how much it was inspired by heritage.

As a person who specializes more in the history of the IWC watches, how important is tradition for the House?

It is very, very important. From a business point of view for example, we have all the numbers and records of all the watches. So if somebody wants to know how old their watch is, they can bring it to the Department and we can check the records and make a certificate of authenticity. That way, you can learn more about your watch even if it is 150 years old. On the other hand, we can provide information for example, if you are writing a story about a certain IWC topic that interests you. The management of information related to history is one of the very important things that we do in our department.

As the IWC Museum curator, how do you make such a historical place interesting and appealing to the young generation?

This is a tricky thing because you know, the young generation is used to getting informed and entertained all the time. I think in the future we have to pay attention to that and maybe have scientific infotainment, especially since the first few seconds are really important to win their interest. Then, they may stay longer or go deeper to get more information. At the museum we use a more traditional kind of approach. We have monitors, but also two years ago we introduced an application on the AppStore where you can download our audio files. This way, you can check them on your smartphone and this may have helped us in taking the first step towards attracting the younger generation and raising awareness. It is very important to share the information when people really want to learn more.

In your opinion, what makes IWC watches as timeless as they look?

I think this is due to their very basic design. The Portugieser watch is one of the best examples. When the watches were first launched in the 1930s with a pocket watch movement, it was very important to have the design of the dial and the case looking like a pocket watch to preserve its traditional style, so that when people are thinking about pocket watches they think of it. In fact, it is very similar to the old vintage watches and in some sense, you don’t really know if it is from our time now, or if it is a vintage piece. Sometimes you can go into a new kind of design because at the end of the day, the avant-garde of the day becomes the classical item of the future and the collectors will love it.

 

Mirella Haddad



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