Celebrating the release of IWC Schaffhausen’s Portugieser collection, the brand brought together Academy Award-winning film score composer Hans Zimmer and renowned physicist Professor Brian Cox to compose music-inspired signature dial colours for the watch. The two exchanged thoughts on the Portugieser Eternal Calendar and discussed ideas inherent to art and science—providing them with unique perspectives to create a musical masterpiece.
“As an artist, I always seek inspiration to take me to unexpected places and give my work new directions. Talking to Brian Cox, a leading physicist and such a brilliant mind, has deeply inspired me. This project has reinforced my intention to create a unique community of artists, scientists, and other thought leaders with the aim of collaborating on some of the most pressing challenges we face globally as a species,” says Zimmer.
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“To a physicist with a deep interest in space and time, IWC’s watchmaking is a source of inspiration. Looking at the second hand of a watch invites profound questions about the nature of time and space and the underlying structure and beauty of our Universe. What exactly is it that this precision machine is so elegantly measuring? But science can’t answer the deepest of questions alone. It is beyond exciting for me to collaborate with IWC and one of my musical heroes, Hans Zimmer. Art and music are as essential to the progress of our civilisation as science and engineering. This project is an opportunity to bring these disciplines together to create something unique and wonderful,” says Cox.
Read more: Watches and Wonders 2024: What is an eternal calendar?
The Portugieser Eternal (Photo: IWC Schaffhausen)
Unveiled at Watches and Wonders 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland, IWC Schaffhausen’s new Portugieser collection pushes the boundaries in fine watchmaking. Its most notable highlight is the Portugieser Eternal Calendar—housing the brand’s first secular perpetual calendar built on the foundation of extensive engineering and craftsmanship. The timepiece automatically considers the Gregorian calendar’s leap year exception rules by skipping three leap years for over 400 years. It features a moon phase display that has been accurate for 45 million years, further reinforcing its eternal moniker.
Hans Zimmer at a concert in Dubai (Photo: IWC Schaffhausen)
Musical genius Hans Zimmer is regarded as one of the best composers in recent history. He has been honoured with two Academy Awards, three Golden Globes, three Grammys, an American Music Award, and a Tony Award. He is best known for his scores for Dune, The Dark Knight trilogy, 12 Years a Slave, Inception, and many more.
Brian Cox (Photo: IWC Schaffhausen)
Meanwhile, renowned physicist and professor at the University of Manchester, Brian Cox, is best known to the public as the presenter of numerous science programmes for the BBC. When he’s not explaining complex scientific concepts to the layperson, he works on the Atlas experiment, studying the forward proton detectors for the Large Hadron Collider in Cern, Geneva.
Lucerne Luxe is the official distributor of IWC Schaffhausen in the Philippines.
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