This year marked the fifth year for the annual Teach For China Burgundy Wine Gala. The evening featured an auction to raise money to support sending teaching Fellows to schools in under-privileged regions of China. A highlight of the evening was learning the story of an 8th grade student from a rural village in the Yunnan province who spoke about the tremendous impact that Teach For China has had on her life. Before an audience of over 400 people, including leaders in the financial, philanthropic and media communities, she recounted how before her mentoring by a Teach For China Fellow she “had no idea what college was” and how now it has become her “ultimate dream”.

The Blancpain auction lot, which drew spirited bidding and quickly rose to double the suggested opening bid, offered the ultimate Swiss experience. The red gold Villeret complete calendar moon phase watch in the lot will be particularly special for the winning bidder as Blancpain’s master engravers in Le Brassus will hand carve the solid gold winding rotor with an image of the owner’s choice, guaranteeing that the timepiece will be a unique piece, a limited edition of one. SWISS International Airlines will fly the winning bidder and a companion in first class comfort from Hong Kong to Zurich. From there accommodations will be in Lausanne’s luxurious Beau-Rivage Palace Hotel and will include dinner for two at the hotel’s Michelin starred restaurant Anne-Sophie Pic. During their stay in Switzerland, Blancpain will welcome the winning bidder to its Le Brassus métiers d’art workshop to meet the master engraver who will craft the bespoke winding rotor.

The auction lot Blancpain Villeret complete calendar moon phase watch on display. 

Expressing his thanks, Teach For China founder Andrea Pasinetti remarked “We are truly blessed to have a community of supporters who are so passionate and dedicated to this cause”. Blancpain is delighted to be a part of that community.

About Teach For China:

Teach For China was founded in 2008 with the goal of ensuring that in the future, all children in China will be provided with access to a quality education.

Teach For China recruits outstanding college graduates from top universities in China and abroad and trains them to serve as full-time teachers ("Fellows") in low-income Chinese schools. Fellows spend two years working in their classrooms to equip students with academic and life skills. Since Teach For China’s founding in 2008, over 700 Fellows have taught in 126 schools in rural Yunnan and Guangdong provinces, working with over 100,000 low-income students.