IWC Schaffhausen is officially in the metaverse.
At Watches and Wonders in Geneva, the Swiss luxury watchmaker announced the launch of its new NFT project, the IWC Diamond Hand Club. To bring the project to life, IWC collaborated with renowned architect Hani Rashid and leading web3 solutions platform Arianee. It marks the Swiss luxury watchmaker’s first foray into web3, opening an immersive metaverse environment for a tokenized community.
For members, the IWC Diamond Hand Club allows them to unlock unique and exclusive experiences as they venture back and forth between the virtual and physical worlds. “IWC has always pioneered the new and the bold, and web3 has incredible potential to demonstrate this spirit of innovation,” elaborates IWC CEO Christoph Grainger-Herr.
“Our exclusive new metaverse experience on the Spatial platform will provide a modern and meaningful way to communicate with our clients. By building an inclusive community for members to enjoy and linking the physical world with its virtual counterpart, we can showcase our brand like never before.”
Following Wednesday’s keynote announcement, IWC will distribute a first drop of 1’868 membership tokens, in a nod to its founding year of 1868, on a first-come, first served basis to clients, watch enthusiasts and fans of the brand. The non-fungible tokens (NFT) will be released on various IWC channels and at its physical booth at Watches and Wonders.
Welcome To The IWC Diamond Hand Club
Following the launch, every client who purchases one of IWC’s newly-launched coloured ceramic Pilot’s Watches will also receive an NFT. Each token, minted with the Arianee NFT management platform, contains a raw diamond-shaped digital artwork, the emblem of the new IWC Diamond Hand Club.
The term ‘Diamond Hand’ is widely used within web3, indicating investment loyalty and a long-term outlook. In naming its environment the IWC Diamond Hand Club, IWC Schaffhausen pays homage to this terminology, attaching the same qualities of commitment and fidelity to its IWC community.
“Once the NFT is claimed, its owner will become an IWC Diamond Hand Club member,” explains Maurice Moitroux, IWC’s Associate Director of Brand Marketing. “They can then enter IWC’s newly-launched virtual 3D space, which is hosted on Spatial.io, a digital online platform that offers accessible and unique metaverse opportunities for creators, NFT collectors and brands to produce compelling and immersive VR experiences.”
IWC’s environment, designed by architect Rashid, is a bespoke, digital version of its physical high-tech shipping container-style booth at Watches and Wonders. It also features other unique worlds, representing the watchmaker’s new ceramic colours, like ‘IWC Mojave Desert’, ‘IWC Woodland’ and ‘IWC Lake Tahoe’. Devised as the gateway to all of IWC’s future web3 initiatives, the IWC Diamond Hand Club will grow as more worlds and features are added, and new collectible tokens are distributed at select occasions.
(Images: IWC Schaffhausen)
