1st post, 1st vintage IWC

greetings all,

I have purchased my first vintage IWC. a silver dial automatic with cal. 852. I love the watch very much, and cannot keep my eyes off of it. I do have some questions with regards to the movement. I was told by the seller that the seconds can hack while adjusting the time, which was not true. Looks like once I have the crown out in the first position, that is for time setting, and by adjusting the time backwards, I can stop the seconds hand, as it feels the restriction of the gears I'm guessing. I wanted to know if this method is recommended while we adjust the time as accurately as possible? or should we always just adjust the time, as whatever the position the seconds hand may be?

secondly, I was told by the seller that the watch is from the 1960s. A little digging through some article on the internet reveals that cal. 852 was made during 1952-1958, so was the seller wrong, and the watch was made in the 50s?

the watch is running somewhat fast, I have a feeling that it will run between 15-30 seconds fast during the 24 hr interval, despite the fact that seller said that the movement received cleaned, lubed, and adjusted just towards the 4th qtr of last year. I had read that there are 5 positions of adjusting the time possibly. Can someone shed some light on how to do it effectively, and is this a relatively simple task for a common person to do?

those are my questions for now. proud to be a vintage IWC owner! and thanks in advance to the feedback.

welcome, congratulations and some answers

Great watch --my congratulations.

For a history of the Calibre 85xx family and a chart of the technical specifications, please see my 2001 article:

www.iwcforum.com/Articles/Calibre85Family/Text.html

Since I wrote it, there are some minor date details that have changed, but your seller was wrong about the date of the movement. However, in theory your watch could have been produced a year or two later.

On forcing the watch to "hack" by back pressure on the winding mechanism. what you're doing can't be good but an occasional back pressure shouldn't break the movement or have major unintended consequences.

On adjusting the watch for positions, that is difficult and should only be done by an experienced --and well-skilled-- watchmaker. However, a simple regulation involves moving the index needle near the balance on the movement, assuming the watch is consistently fast (or slow). But taking the case apart itself can compromise water resistance and personally I would have it done by a watchmaker. There should be more on this if you search the archived posts.

Good luck,
Michael

welcome, congratulations and some answers

Hi Michael,

thank you for your article. it was one of the references I used. I have enclosed a picture of the movement, and drew on it, as I interpreted what you were saying and wanted to see if I got the general idea right. thanks again!

You now own one of the .....

finest, and best ever "automatic" mechanical movements ever produced. As MF article highlights, it's a fantastic movement in your watch and indeed the accuracy of the 8541 movements are renowned. I have a huge respect for the accuracy of this movement - as you can see from my posting on this board previously (search - a tough project to do well) . Definately worthwhile to 1) request an extract from the register from IW|C to give accurate dating information 2) send the watch to Schaffhausen for a full service...you will be amazed at the accuracy it comes back with! Enjoy....

You now own one of the .....

thanks Mark, so you would also recommend that I send it out to IWC to get it serviced? I was told by the seller, that it was taken apart and oiled and adjusted. Which is why I was somewhat surprised that it was going 40 seconds a day on a oiled and adjusted watch. I saw that Jack at superior watch in NYC is listed as the authorized repair. I think I am going to email him and see what he says.....thanks to all who have replied thus far.