Yahoo Lifestyle Shopping Time: 5 Extraordinary Neo-Vintage IWC Watches to Buy Right Now
We are always scouring the web for the most amazing watches currently available, and each Friday Shopping Time shares five standout timepieces with you.
IWC has a fascinating history as a manufacturer of some of the all-time great tool watches of the post war era. The brand also has a streak of mechanical ingenuity in them, producing truly innovative complicated watches alongside the simple classics IWC is better known for. It’s sometimes hard to reconcile that the maker of ultra-high-legibility pilots watches, super-durable dive watches, and elegant time-only dress watches can whip up complications on par with Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Jaeger-LeCoultre. And yet, there it is right on our recent round up of the 10 greatest grand complications in the world, this year’s IWC Eternal Calendar watch.
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This week, however, we are looking at five of the more fascinating neo-vintage watches that IWC has offered over the past few decades. You won’t find that cool pilots chronograph, or simple Mark XVI, or even anything that even really looks at first glance like an IWC—and those watches are recognizable from across the room. As IWC fan John Mayer once noted, his fans can read the time when he wears an IWC pilots watch on stage. Rather, we have brought together some very different IWCs, including three perpetual calendars. Let’s jump in.
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IWC Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar 9240 | $25,000
The IWC Ingenieur was first released in the 1950s as a tool watch for, well, engineers working in close proximity to magnetic fields. It used a faraday cage to protect the movement from these fields, thus maintaining its accuracy. In the ‘70s, the Ingenieur was given a redesign by none other than Gerald Genta, and welcomed an integrated bracelet more inline with other premium sport watches of the era (and it’s a design they’ve recently resurrected). The design welcomed a selection of IWC movements over its production span, and perhaps the most interesting among them is the reference 9240, powered by the caliber 3758.
IWC’s Kurt Klaus developed an ingenious perpetual calendar mechanism in the early ‘80s, and was celebrated for its remarkable simplicity, using relatively few parts, and being entirely adjustable through the crown. In the early ‘90s, this perpetual calendar made its way into the Ingenieur collection via this reference 9240.This example comes to us from Wind Vintage and features a 38mm yellow gold case with a stark white dial. The complications are laid out clearly, and this design has a lot of legs even today. This is a rare bird and a relatively great value for the package.
IWC Aquatimer ref. 1812 | $19,500
While IWC did produce a W.W.W. (watch, wrist, waterproof) in the late ‘40s for the British military, it wouldn’t be until 1967 that they would make a true dive watch in the Aquatimer reference 812. The watch was unique for its relatively high depth rating of ~200 meters, and its dual crown system to support the internal rotating bezel. That case was a super compressor style borrowed from Enicar, by the way. In 1971, the first Aquatimer was redesignated as the reference 1812, but the austere design remained, and would set the stage for one of the more unique takes on the dive watch to come out of the era.
This reference 1812, which is being offered by The Keystone, features a white bezel, and walks up to the line of formal wear with clean lines, and a scripted logo. What sets this particular example apart is its excellent condition, and the original Gay Freres bracelet with the old school IWC logo stamped on its clasp. This watch represents an important moment in IWC’s history, and the Aquatimer collection remains in production to this day, but none are quite as charming as this original 37mm example.
IWC Da Vinci Tourbillon 3752 Perpetual Calendar Chronograph | $24,300
The late ‘80s and ‘90s was a wild era for watch design, and while many are polarizing to this day, there’s no denying just how interesting some of them are. The IWC Da Vinci went through a, let’s call it distinctive, period in this range, the peak example of which is the reference 3750 and 3752, a perpetual calendar chronograph with a tourbillon thrown in for good measure. This watch has it all, but its most defining feature is the end link integration to the case to attach the strap via ‘Vendome’ lug. It looks a bit like a tie bar from the same era, with a fully horizontal structure, almost framing the case and dial. The meeting point of this horizontal line with the curvature of the case causes a bit of tension, but it works way better than it has any right to.
This 3752 example is being offered by European Watch Company, and all things considered, this is a whole lot of watch for the money. This is the platform into which Kurt Klaus and IWC placed their first perpetual calendar mechanism, and the 3752 dials things up with the use of a tourbillon rotating the escapement each 60 seconds. The yellow gold case measures a mere 39mm in diameter, though it is 15mm in thickness, as the complication is built upon a base Valjoux caliber, and not integrated. This does keep the price in relatively manageable territory when considering the spec of the watch, and this example comes as a full kit in like new condition.
IWC GST Perpetual Calendar | $10,950
In 1997, IWC introduced the GST collection, so named for the metals used within: Gold, Steel, and Titanium. The collection would build on existing models, such as the Aquatimer, in new ways, sometimes pushing them to extremes. The GST line would also come to host the brand’s perpetual calendar chronograph caliber 79261, an evolution of the movements seen above. The calendar functions are still adjustable entirely through the crown, with each of the sub dials clearly labeling their function. The GST was unique for its geometric integrated case and bracelet, which pairs beautifully with this rich dial experience.
This GST Perpetual Calendar Chronograph is a reference 3756 that dates to the early ‘00s and features a titanium case (43mm) and integrated H link bracelet. Overall the condition looks excellent with strong case lines remaining untouched. This example has been serviced, but does not come with its box and papers, which is reflected in the price. Overall, this is a truly unique example of IWCs innovative period of the ‘90s.
IWC x Porsche Design ref. 3510 ‘Compass Watch’ | €3,900 (~$4,200)
Finally, we have something truly unique from IWCs relationship with Porsche Design in the ‘80s. This is the reference 5310 aka the Compass Watch for reasons that will become obvious in a moment. At a glance, this is a simple field style time and date watch with an olive green PVD coating applied to the 38mm aluminum case. However, there’s more underneath the surface, as the case splits open with the press of a button to reveal a compass that can be used without removing the watch from your wrist. A handy tool watch for the field if ever there was one.
The watch portion of this tool is powered by the automatic caliber 375, which has been checked and regulated by Bulang & Sons, who is selling the watch. While this did come with a bracelet, not many survive in great condition these days, so this example is fitted to a nautic rubber strap. The watch is showing light signs of age in a beautiful way, with a warm dial set with off-white markers. This is the kind of watch you don’t often see these days, and it represents one of the great relationships ever formed in the tool watch genre between IWC and Porsche Design.
Please note that we are not affiliated with the sellers of the watches we recommend. We may point out aspects of a listing that we feel are positive, but only you can vet a seller. We can recommend viewing our video “How to Collect It: Vintage Watches” to glean some best practices, however.
