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actorSpotted June 2023

Actor Willem Dafoe spotted wearing a IWC

actor Willem Dafoe spotted wearing a IWC
Who & what: IWC Schaffhausen Da Vinci Chronograph Edition Laureus Sport for Good Foundation – Stainless Steel Blue Dial IW393402

At the 90th Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on March 4, 2018, Willem Dafoe arrived on the red carpet alongside his wife, director and choreographer Giada Colagrande, wearing a piece that deserved as much attention as his tuxedo: the IWC Schaffhausen Da Vinci Chronograph Edition Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, reference IW393402.

The Da Vinci Chronograph Laureus Edition is built around IWC's in-house caliber 89361, a self-winding movement featuring a column-wheel controlled flyback chronograph and a vertical clutch — mechanisms that ensure near-instantaneous reset and minimal interference with the running seconds hand during engagement. The movement beats at 28,800 vph, offers 68 hours of power reserve, and is visible through a sapphire caseback. The 42mm stainless steel case is paired with an 'Edition Laureus Blue' lacquered dial, a deep navy tone that sets it apart from the standard Da Vinci Chronograph references, with silver Arabic numerals and red accent markers at the chronograph registers lending it a sporting yet formal character.

The Da Vinci name carries significant weight in IWC's catalog, tracing its heritage back to the 1969 perpetual calendar innovations the brand pioneered. The modern Da Vinci line, relaunched at SIHH 2017, repositioned the collection from a feminine-leaning range back toward its technically ambitious roots. The Laureus edition — tied to the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, of which IWC is a long-standing partner — was produced in a limited run of 1,000 pieces, making it a meaningful collector's variant rather than a pure marketing exercise.

Dafoe has shown consistent taste for understated, technically credible watches on the awards circuit, and the Da Vinci Chronograph Laureus aligns perfectly with that sensibility. It is formal enough for black tie, horologically serious enough for those who look closely.

On the secondary market, the IW393402 trades at modest premiums given its limited nature and the ongoing collector interest in IWC's flyback chronograph references. Retail at launch was approximately $13,000, and grey-market examples have stabilized in the $9,500–$11,000 range — representing reasonable value for a Swiss in-house flyback chronograph with provenance.

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