IWC debut online customisation tool

Swiss watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen is giving customers more control through an online watch customizer.

With the Swiss watch industry often exuding opulence with high-end customer service in stores via product personalization, IWC is bringing that experience online. Through a special online tool, users can now design their own personalized watch and purchase it digitally.

“Luxury products are not only beautiful and of outstanding quality and craftsmanship, they are also highly personal,” said Christoph Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen.

Direct-to-consumer ecommerce is becoming increasingly prevalent in the luxury watch industry, with 62 percent of watch brands supporting it.

Five luxury watch brands have launched DTC ecommerce in the past year alone, according to L2’s Digital IQ Index: Watches & Jewelry 2018 report. The data shows that ecommerce is becoming a major element of luxury watch brands’ strategies in the year ahead

Reflective of this growing adoption of ecommerce, IWC is allowing customers to specially design their own Ingenieur Chronograph online.

The experience is beyond a simple product finder, as IWC’s “Style Visualizer“ allows users to design their own watch with options independent of the current collection.

A 46-hour power reserve will be equipped on every watch along with an efficient pawl winding system. Different dials and hands are available, as well as various case material and straps.

An engraving option is also available on the case back. As consumers select options, a visualizer allows them to see their creations through a 3D rendering.

Once complete, users can purchase their personalised watch, which will then be produced and tested for more than 500 hours in regards to IWC standards.

It will take a total of 12 weeks to assemble and test before the personalized watch is sent out to its owner.

“The new IWC configurator allows our clients to choose from a selection of materials, dials, hands and straps/bracelets to create a wide range of different styles and a uniquely personal watch – perfectly finished with a personal engraving,” Mr. Grainger-Herr said. “All this directly on iwc.com anytime and anywhere our clients choose.”

IWC Online Customization Tool For The Ingenieur Chronograph