IWC Offers Support to Cousteau Society

The partnership between the IWC Company and The Cousteau Society started back in 2004. Today the partners are united by close friendship. In fact, the IWC- Cousteau cooperation was initiated in 2003 when IWC offered support to the anniversary expedition undertaken by the members of the Cousteau Society to the coral reefs found in the Red Sea.

The expedition marked 50 years that passed since the famous voyage of Jacques-Yves Cousteau into these natural sea wonders. Cousteau was sailing aboard his research vessel beautifully named Calypso. The Cousteau Society's divers made direct comparisons and proved that the submarine biotopes were still in a quite good state and required urgent conservation measures.

To commemorate the unusual 50th anniversary, the Cousteau Society also made a new film devoted to the mysterious and irresistibly beautiful 'Silent World'. The ecological project initiated by The Cousteau Society may be best described as the Commander himself put it : 'People protect what they love'. From the point of view of ecology protection, the tropical coral reefs may be compared to the rain forests of the oceans.

The creation of the IWC Aquatimer Chronograph 'Cousteau Divers' highlighted one more important stage in the cooperation between the partners. IWC decided to support the active marine conservationists and Cousteau's heirs through donating part of the proceeds received from the IWC diver's watch sales. The Special Edition of the IWC Aquatimer Chronograph was developed in a limited number of 2,500 pieces. The diver's watch is driven by a mechanical movement and provided with chronograph and automatic winding system. It is pressure-resistant to 120-meter depth.

Those watch connoisseur who became the owners of the IWC Aquatimer Chronograph 'Cousteau Divers' offered indirect support to The Cousteau Society, presently managed by Francine Cousteau, the Commander's widow.

The IWC watch-makers decided to commemorate the ideas of the famous Frenchman in the most unconventional way - every model of the Aquatimer Special Edition incorporates a tiny piece of the legendary Calypso vessel, from which Cousteau together with his crew dived on the oceans of the world. The watch-makers inlaid a sliver of timber from the converted minesweeper in the steel case back of the IWC watch and secured it behind the sapphire glass. The minesweeper was presented to the researcher by Noel Guinness, a brewer from Ireland.

The Cousteau Society, established in 1974, is a non-profit organization under the patronage of UNESCO. The IWC watch-making company became the first cooperation partner from the business world accepted by the society.