W&W 2023 and more - Anthony’s travel journal

I have just returned from an absolutely fantastic three week holiday, the
impetus being to attend W&W 2023 as part of the IWC Collectors group!

People may think it's a long way to travel from Australia just to see the new
releases unveiled, but it's the friendships - rekindling of old ones and
making of new ones - that make such a journey worthwhile. There are lots of
laughs, tales, anecdotes and watches to share. I consider myself very
fortunate to have been able to attend this year and my thanks goes to Tonny
and IWC for organising and hosting the various events during our time in
Geneva.

In the spirit of sharing the joy, I'm going to post some photos from our time
in Geneva... as well as some extra activities as part of my trip.

Let's start on Wednesday, the day before the collectors could officially
descend upon W&W. As you all know, this year IWC focused on the relaunch of
the Genta Ingenieur. I took time to visit the IWC Boutique in Geneva to see
first-hand some historically significant Ingenieurs.

Lots of history and learning - the biggest learning for me, however, was that
I can totally rock yellow gold!

I also bumped into James Green, but we were too busy taking photos of these
glorious Ingenieurs that we forgot to snap a shot of us together! We did at
least manage to have a drink on the rooftop bar overlooking Lake Geneva.

That evening there was an informal Collectors dinner at Cafe Papon, organised
by Ben, for those who had already arrived at Geneva.

This was the first of many decadent meals. Mentally I tried to convince myself
that calories consumed on holiday don't count. Whilst my mind was comfortable
playing along with this untruth, my belly laughed and expanded accordingly.

So good to be able to enjoy each other's company again.

Jarrod was double-wristing two awesome DaVinci's: his first IWC and the
birthday boy's Perpetual Calendar Chronograph in gold.

And here is the birthday boy himself - Happy Birthday Tilo!

Thursday was our first day at Watches and Wonders.

Before hitting the IWC booth, I took a moment to relax and started off with a
little espresso.

Since it was the relaunch of the Genta Inegnieur, the IWC booth leaned heavily
into the sleek 70s modernist aesthetic. It looked fantastic, as did the
watches!

How good do these look!!!! Extra exclamation points for Nad!

Even the drinks were on point!

Great report and pics!!! Thanks, Anthony!

Thanks Jim!

The forum has a limit on how many photos you can post per day, so this will
end up being a multi-part instalment over a few days.

It will continue...

Excellent reporting and photos, mate. I am so sad to miss seeing everyone
again, but I am thrilled those who were there making new friends and
rekindling new ones, as you said.

Thank you for your very nice report and photos!

Thank you, Anthony, for a fantastic post and photos, I'm looking forward to
the next installment!

Thank you, I love it!

Thanks Bill - I fondly recall photo reports from your good self and others on
the forum when I first joined. It's the least I can do to help convey the
sense of friendship and community this forum fosters. I look forward to the
day when we can meet again too!

Henrik, Ben, and Peter - thank you as well. More photos to come...

So, where were we? Ah, yes. Thursday at W&W... the day continues.

The Collectors were provided a guided tour of the booth. Our group had Walter
Volpers, Director of Manufacturing, who provided some excellent insight into
the production decisions in the design of the new Ingenieur.

After checking out the booth we all grabbed some lunch together. Adam
Craniotes happened to be walking by, so we grabbed a shot. This is Ben, Adam,
Dr David Seyffer, the IWC Museum Curator and incredible holder of historical
knowledge, and myself.

Following our lunch we were ushered into a private room for a journal
interview session with interns, Sebastian and Lucas. This was followed by a
Q&A session with the Director of Research & Innovation, Dr Lorenz Brunner.

At the end there was the ubiquitous table shot.

After the formal activities for day 1, we returned to the booth and there were
a handful of collectors milling about. I took the oppprtunity to cajole them
into a spontaneous snapshot in front of the IWC Ingeniuer wall banner. Despite
being a tad over-exposed, there's no denying the suave and debonair cut of
these fine gentlemen!

That evening was the official Collectors Dinner at Cafe des Banques. I was
seated next to Michael and Hannes and it was a privilege to be regaled by
stories from these IWC legends. In what had to be the busiest week of his
year, we were also fortunate enough to have the CEO, Chris Grainger-Herr,
attend our dinner as well! These are amazing evenings.

Chris wearing my ATBON 2020 - one of 8!

Toward the end of the evening Ben was showing Hannes and Jarrod how to be an
influencer. After a while, Hannes shrugged and simply said "Meh, I have a gold
plated Kalishnikov." Influencer game: checkmate!

Manadatory Menu and food shots...

Day 2 at W&W commenced with a closed-door breakfast session with CGH!

After this we had a manufacturing session with Walter Volpers and Joaquim
Teixeira.

Following these sessions, we had lunch and then some free time to wander the
exhibition space.

Here's Jarrod, Philipp, and myself posing for a group photo.

Great pics and report of a fabulous event :o)

Thank you for these really great photos!

I get a little jealous... Should have applied to join the event...

Thank you Mark - it was a fabulous event and it was great to catch up again!

Thank you too, Wil - I'm glad you're enjoying the show! Btw, you should
definitely apply to attend any collector event. I can attest that it is
fantastic to meet fellow collectors as part of a travelling holiday. It is
also fantastic to meet them if they come to your home-town too!

And, one final note, don't be hard on yourself for not applying.

I waited 8 years before I even contemplated making an application. The next
one, go for it!

Love your reports Anthony, well done and great photography!

Kind regards, Bob