Cate blanchett and joseph fiennes in multi-media theatrical performance for iwc schaffhausen gala.

Cate blanchett and joseph fiennes in multi-media theatrical performance for iwc schaffhausen gala

"The Crossing" is the name of the large-scale gala event being hosted by IWC Schaffhausen at the SIHH on 8 April 2008 to celebrate the vision of the company's American founder, Florentine Ariosto Jones

By now, it is something of a tradition for Swiss watch manufacturers IWC Schaffhausen to stage a spectacular gala evening as part of Geneva's watch fair, the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie. This year's event will be known simply as "The Crossing". Just over 140 years ago, F. A.Jones from Boston, Massachusetts, set out on a journey that took him to Schaffhausen, where he set up the International Watch Company. The gala will mark the official launch of the IWC Vintage Collection - Jubilee Edition 1868 - 2008. This latest collection is an elegant and fascinating encapsulation of 140 years of company history. As a highlight of the evening, around 1,200 guests will be treated to a short multi-media performance, Minutes of a Separation, by Sydney Theatre Company. STC's Co-Artistic Director Cate Blanchett will appear on film and live performers will include renowned Australian aerialists and acclaimed British actor, Joseph Fiennes.

In spring 1868 Florentine Ariosto Jones embarked on the long voyage across the Atlantic that took him to Europe. In his passport was a visa for entry to Switzerland, issued by the Swiss embassy in Boston. As to the purpose of his trip, Jones had written: "To set up a watchmaking company". He set off across the Atlantic with the idea of marrying Swiss watchmaking traditions with American industrial know-how to manufacture watches of the highest quality. To celebrate the company's 140th anniversary, an enormous set depicting Boston harbour as Jones would have experienced it back then will be built in the Geneva Arena. Making their way past covered wagons, crates and trunks, guests will board the "SV Scafusia", before embarking on a unique voyage back into the past.

One of the evening's big highlights will be a 15-minutes multi-media theatrical presentation produced exclusively for IWC by the acclaimed Sydney Theatre Company, featuring Cate Blanchett on film and live performances from Joseph Fiennes and aerialists from award-winning Australian physical theatre company, Legs On The Wall. Minutes of a Separation is directed by Nigel Jamieson, known for some of the world's most enthralling productions creating spectacular moments such as the Tin Symphony during the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics and the recent opening celebrations launching Liverpool as European Capital of Culture 2008. He is also a celebrated stage director, with credits including the recent Honour Bound seen at London's Barbican in November.

Another of the evening's highlights is a private concert by Alanis Morissette. Canada's first lady of rock 'n' roll has already won a total of seven Grammy Awards, and guests can look forward to an exclusive foretaste of her new album, "Flavors of Entanglement".

Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey, actors Jean Reno, Rinko Kikuchi, Chen Chang and, Laureus sport legends Edwin Moses, Nadja Comaneci, Ilie Nastase and Boris Becker, football legend Zinedine Zidane, author Paolo Coelho and adventurer and environmentalist David de Rothschild: these and a host of other well-known celebrities have already accepted the invitation to be present at the IWC's 2008 gala evening.

But the purpose of this exceptional evening is not only to honour our company founder, F. A. Jones. To celebrate this 140th anniversary, six milestones in IWC's history as a watch manufacturer have been reinvented as new "Vintage" models for the present. These models are not so much copies as reinterpretations of old and timeless traditional designs. Where historical authenticity demanded, the new watches have been equipped with hand-wound movements. In the course of their journey into the present, the dimensions of some of the new models have been increased. The collection embraces the Pilot's Watch Hand-Wound, the Portuguese HandWound, the Ingenieur Automatic, the Aquatimer Automatic, the Da Vinci Automatic and, finally, the Portofino Hand-Wound. The six watches in the IWC Vintage Collection - Jubilee Edition 1868 - 2008 represent the founding legends of the watch families still manufactured with pride today by IWC.

[c] 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)