In Vintage Style

In Geneva, earlier this year, IWC celebrated its 140th anniversary, with the launch of its Vintage collection—a composition of six legendary models from its history. Gianfranco D’Attis, Regional Brand Manager and Kurt Klaus, Research and Development speak to Veyoleen Mehrotra as they travel back in time and course through IWC’s heritage

Technical marvel
* 1868, an American engineer and watchmaker Florentine Ariosto Jones established the International Watch Company (IWC) in Schaffhausen, Switzerland to produce the first pocket watch movements for the American market.

On its 140th anniversary this year, IWC introduced the Vintage collection—a tribute to the seminal moment when Jones founded the company. Comprising six iconic wristwatches from its history of several milestones, the Vintage collection presents watch aficionados with the opportunity to realise their dreams of owning a piece of IWC’s history. After considerable deliberation, IWC selected six models that embody the brand’s motto, ‘Probus Scafusia’ (good, solid craftsmanship from Schaffhausen).

Travel back in time and you arrive at the Pilot’s Watch Hand-Wound—the first professional’s watch from IWC. Now equipped with an IWC-manufactured 98300-calibre movement, the original Pilot’s Watch Hand-Wound was introduced at a time when aviation was marked by path-breaking adventures and tests of courage.

Evocative of the Portuguese maritime tradition, the Portuguese Hand-Wound contains a manually wound 98295-calibre pocket watch movement.

If the Pilot’s Watch Hand-Wound celebrated the brand’s ability to marry technique with practicality, the Ingenieur Automatic epitomised IWC’s engineering prowess. The vintage version of this model provides an unhindered view of the IWC-manufactured 80111-calibre movement.

Among IWC’s range of watches for professionals, it was the launch of the Aquatimer Automatic that observed the brand’s pioneering expertise in the field of diving. The revived Aquatimer Automatic brings to mind not only the early days of diving as a sport, but also IWC’s initial brush with the underwater world.

Originally inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, renowned for his paintings like Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, the Da Vinci Automatic recalls the first electronic Da Vinci which was, at the time, hailed as a revolution. The legendary tonneau-shaped case draws eyes to its avant-garde design and generously-sized dial.

Elegant and sophisticated, the Portofino Hand-Wound with its pocket watch movement and accurate moon phase display calls on the original Portofino Reference 5251.

In another celebration of this momentous occasion, IWC made a special offer—the first 140 vintage watches will be made available to connoisseurs in platinum, with matching numbers as a unique set in an intricately worked leather box.

The Vintage collection presents watch aficionados with the opportunity to realise their dreams of owning a piece of IWC’s history

What are the defining qualities of IWC’s 2008 collection?
This year was the 140th anniversary of IWC. As homage to this special occasion, IWC has taken six iconic models from the company’s long history. A special line called the IWC Vintage collection has introduced them as contemporary reinterpretations equipped with modern IWC manufactured movements. Each model represents the passion, technical advantage, engineering and pioneering spirit associated with IWC. For instance, the Portuguese, manufactured in 1939, is a genuine legend in watchmaking, and the Ingenieur Automatic, which appeared in 1955, with a strong magnetic protection of upto 5,00,000 amere/ metres broke all records in the industry. In 1967, IWC launched the Aquatimer, water-resistant to 20 bar, the company’s first diver’s watch whose success has continued unabated to this day. The story of the Da Vinci family comprises a technological revolution in the mid 1960s when IWC, along with other Swiss companies, developed a quartz wristwatch movement that revolutionised the world of watchmaking.

What are the qualities that define IWC timepieces?
Developing watches of superior quality is a part of IWC’s DNA. This is true to its old motto—Probus Scafusia, which means good, solid craftsmanship from Schaffhausen. It is our first priority and objective to produce qualitative, technically engineered, fine watches. Each product line presents a technical speciality. To cite some examples—the Da Vinci, with its renowned perpetual calendar and the Portuguese line, with its large sized manufactured automatic movements. Even the Aquatimer that was introduced in 1967 was tailored to the needs of professional divers, with an ability to resist pressure at depths as deep as 200 metres.

Which is your favourite IWC watch and why?
The Portuguese watch, because of its elegance and technical innovation. The heart of this watch is based on the pocket watch movement called the pellaton from IWC.

Tell us about your visit to India?
I’m visiting India with our new collection to work with our guests. I use the word ‘work’ because this evening we’ve arranged a workshop to bring our clients (owners of IWC watches) closer to the brand. We want to give them an understanding of what goes into a mechanical watch. The best way to do this is to present the movement of a mechanical watch. Of course, people won’t actually assemble the movement; it is just to give them an idea of the components that comprise a movement. In fact, we wouldn’t open the whole movement because it is too difficult to reassemble it without damaging the components. Besides this, we are also carrying with us the Vintage collection.

Which is your favourite timepiece from the collection?
My favourite is the Portofino Hand-Wound with moon phase display. I love the design and overall appearance of the watch. However, what makes it truly special is the fact that almost 30 years ago, I made the original Portofino watch with the pocket watch movement. They called it the Portofino because it was a bit Italian and displays a distinctly Italian style and design.

How long did it take to conceptualise and assemble the collection?
Personally, I didn’t have to do much for the collection because we used existing mechanical and automatic movements. We also had our hand-wound pocket watch movement—a Florentine Ariosto Jones movement. So the real task at hand was for the designers, case constructors and others. To create a case isn’t so easy, yet not as complicated as it is to create a new movement, so it took them almost a year and a half to put it all together.

What are you working on right now?
(Laughs) Well, I’m working on a secret! Although, I work in the development department, I’m no longer the head of the department. My job is to concentrate on new products that are more traditional in nature. I’m working on a product, a novelty that will be ready for the year 2012. It takes a long time for me to create something, but the time taken from the conception stage to the finished product can also be very long. From developing a prototype to subjecting it to assorted tests—before we initiate production, a timepiece must be tested extensively to ensure that it is a product of good quality.

What are the features that make an IWC watch so special?
The distinction between an IWC watch and any other watch is different from what it was 50 years ago, when I first started working with the company. At the time, an IWC watch stood for superior quality and accuracy. For the initial 20 years, we focused on increasing accuracy. Today, the differentiating factor between us and others is the fact that we are the masters in complications. In fact, after the quartz crisis in the industry, IWC was the first to revive the mechanical watch. In the late ’70s and early ’80s, IWC made a new type of mechanical watch—the Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar. After witnessing the success of the Da Vinci, other brands soon followed. Today, almost every brand has some complication and mechanical watch. But what is really special about an IWC is that we were the leaders in reviving the trend of mechanical watches.

What changes have you seen during your tenure with the company?
When I walk through our workshops, I think to myself that watchmakers today are doing what I did 50 years ago—they even use some of the same tools. Watchmaking as a craft hasn’t changed much. However, in the last 30 years, certain aspects of the process have undergone some changes. These include the industrial production of watch movement components and cases, and the inclusion of computer technology. For me, this was the most important change of all. One no longer required a pencil and drawing board to sketch designs of new parts and movements. However, it must be said that a computer cannot create a watch. For me, a computer is merely a tool, a very comfortable one and I like it. But I have to think and apply my skill—the computer takes its instructions from me. In manufacturing, we often say that our hands are our most important tool.