IWC Cal.89 18ct 1950

IWC

It is said that owning a vintage IWC is something everyone with a serious interest in vintage watches should aspire to. A strong statement perhaps, but a little time spent researching IWC and their 1950s & ’60s watches, will very likely lead one to the same conclusion. In essence, this is because during the 1950s and ’60s, IWC determined they would manufacture some of the very best watches ever made and quite simply, this is what it achieved. The craftsmanship, technical excellence and sheer beauty of their exquisite movements and cases, manufactured during the ‘golden age’ of watch-making, has never been beaten – perhaps equalled occasionally, but never beaten!

An IWC is often referred to as a ‘watchmaker’s watch’. This is simply because watchmakers love them, both to work on and to own. This is due to the design, technical excellence and particularly the sheer beauty of their watch movements.

Description

The watch here is highly impressive, not only for its wonderfully elegant, fully original, unrestored and untouched dial, but also for being oversized at 36mm in diameter. This is also in amazingly good condition. However, this is just on the surface. What lies beneath is a truly iconic movement. Designed and produced to military specifications, the Cal.89 has certainly stood the test of time, remaining in production in both civilian and military use for over 40 years!

The Dial

The stunning 1950s, original, unrestored and untoucehd ‘freckle’ effect silver-white dial is furnished with gilt ‘pencil’ hour indices, matched with the original yellow gold ‘lance’ style hands. The dial has some beautiful signs of ageing in the gentle pitting and even spotting that can be seen, we believe this adds unique charm and character.

The dial is signed with the infinitely more attractive, early, ‘International Watch Company Schaffhausen’ signature.

The dial has a great deal of appeal due to its classic signs of ageing and very even patina, including some beautiful even spotting across the dial, as mentioned above. Due to its relatively good condition and for reasons of retaining the character and the originality of the watch, we have left it completely alone. If however, you would prefer the dial sympathetically restoring, we will be happy to arrange this for you without any extra charge.

Please note, studio lights, professional-grade digital cameras, and macro lenses can be very unkind to an unrestored vintage watch dial. Also the dial here measures less than 1.25 inches across, so the image you’re seeing may be between 5 – 25 times larger than the watch itself. Therefore please keep in mind you are seeing many tiny flaws which cannot be seen, or will be very hard to see with the unaided eye, even under close examination. Suffice to say, on the wrist, in natural light, this dial looks much better and carries a great deal more charm than the photographs portray.

The Movement

Many consider the IWC Cal.89 to be one of the greatest manually wound movements of the 20th century. The movement was originally developed in 1946 by the genius of watchmaking, Albert Pellaton. Designed to meet the most demanding and highly rigorous specifications of the British Ministry of Defence, each movement went through a 44-day test in five positions and temperatures ranging from -5° to +46° C. It was produced for military use continuously for over 30 years and became ‘The standard’ for military-grade timepieces. The movement also became a mainstay for IWC’s commercial market and remained in production until the mid-1990s.

We have already touched on the craftsmanship and sheer beauty of IWC movements above. Some examples of the extra care and attention are the finishing applied to the bridges or plates, characterised by a series of arc-grained bars etched lightly onto bridges or plates, creating a wave-like effect. This is known as a ‘Geneva Wave’ finish. Furthermore, all the edges of the plates are beautifully hand-bevelled which is very difficult and time-consuming to achieve. Lastly, each of the ruby jewels is set in brass ‘chantons’ which are then screwed into the plates rather than setting the jewel directly into the plates. This is the kind of detail which sets IWC apart.

This watch has been fully overhauled by a Master Watchmaker. This means dismantling the movement to each of its component parts and careful inspection under high magnification, then replacement where necessary with only genuine IWC parts before careful reassembly and adjustment and final calibration in 5 positions. This watch therefore, winds, sets and runs accurately and reliably within +7 seconds per day, averaged over 5 positions, which is outstanding for any watch of this age. We are therefore more than confident in offering a 1-year warranty with this watch movement. We confidently predict, if well cared for, this watch will run very happily for many more decades to come.

The movement is all signed correctly and as expected: ‘International Watch Co’ and ‘Swiss’ with both the Calibre number 89 and the serial number 1238432 which dates this watch to 1950.

The Case

The very high quality, oversized 18ct yellow gold watch case measures a massive 36mm in diameter, excluding the correct IWC unsigned crown. The design and craftsmanship here really is something special. The stepped case improves the profile and adds character to the case and watch, making it seem slightly larger than it actually is. The beautifully sculpted swept back lugs have a flowing form and significantly elevate the status of the watch. This is all nothing less than pure class.

The main case body, bezel and case-back are all in beautiful condition with no scratches, dings or other damage visible to the unaided eye. The case therefore, has simply required a professional clean and gentle hand-polish to bring back the almost new look of the watch. The high polished  case-back is of full thickness and has never been inscribed.

Inside the case-back, we find Swiss Geneva 18ct Hallmarks and the case serial number 1250022.

As ever, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Strap and Buckle

The watch is fitted with a high quality black leather strap, which we feel suits the watch perfectly, and a generic gold-plated buckle. However, if a different colour or style of strap is preferred, please let us know and we will do our best to offer your alternative choice, free of charge.

Box and Papers

Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks are all correct, dating this watch to 1950.

Detailed particulars will be included with our purchase receipt for your interest and security. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will also be provided, along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If this watch proves to be anything less than 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.

This watch comes complete with a IWC presentation box as shown in the photographs.

Payment and Delivery

If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and, unfortunately, out of our control.

We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges; however, attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.

For those who happen to visit London on occasion, we are, of course, more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and hand your watch directly to you there.

As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no-quibble sale or return policy.

In Conclusion

This is a simply wonderful example of a 1950 IWC 18ct dress watch which is ready to wear and completely practical for everyday use. If treated with care it will make an excellent investment and heirloom piece. IWC will always command huge respect in the high-end watch market and consequently, prices are always rock solid. We are sure this will make a great investment for any collector to wear, use, treasure and enjoy!

A word on our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before restoring them to the highest possible standards. We then offer these at the fairest prices we can, taking into account our pre and post-sales care and service. This approach means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are some well-known stores in West London which are highly successful charging between two to three times the price you see here. We therefore consider our prices to be fair, given the quality of watches we have to offer.

If you have any questions, please call us on 0207 727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095.

Please note, we welcome part exchanges. If you have a watch or small collection for sale, please contact us as we will be happy to discuss.

We will also be happy to Service your watch, Repair your watch or Restore your watch, all at sensible prices. Please see here.

Please take a look at our other fine vintage gold watches.

Thank you.