Luxury watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen has unveiled a new flagship boutique in the Chinese capital.

IWC launched its new Beijing flagship store with the cream of Beijing society including actress Tang Wei, Olympic gold medal winner Chen Yibing, actor Su You Peng, Cloud Atlas star Zhu Zhu, movie director Wang Xiaoshuai, and Wang Luyan.

The 300 square meter dark glass cube unveiled in a ceremony on November 22 is the first flasghip in mainland China.

“Our new Flagship Boutique, now the second in Asia, takes IWC’s watchmaking heritage to a new level,” explained IWC CEO Georges Kern.

“We are proud to celebrate this occasion with our distinguished guests and to honor the importance of the Chinese market with an exclusive timepiece.”

The inside of the building is fitted out in luxurious dark woods, and the full lines of IWC watches are available on site. Crowds gathered on the bridge outside the boutique, and were told the brand’s story, travelling through time with the stories of a number of IWC watches from the company’s long history.

Also on display in a special location in-store is one of the company’s talismans, the Portuguese Sidérale Scafusia, which has been specially engraved with a celestial chart on the case back showing Beijing’s Forbidden City’s horizon.

Founded in 1868, Swiss watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen has expanded into the booming Asian luxury market, and has seven other stores in mainland China.