Caliber 69370

Is it true that the new calibre 69370 also has wear-resistant ceramic winding wheels like the 52000 movements?
I would like to see a techinal article about the new movement!

Hi DOC76,

An official website doesn't mention wear-resistant ceramic winding wheels in calibre 69370 Link...

However, other websites say that it has Link.... But it is not an official IWC web page, so the info can be inaccurate.

Regards
JK

I've read that the pawl winding of the 69xxx series is different from the Pellaton winding system.

The mentioned site is were I got the information from. The cal 69000 uses the magic lever (from seiko). Is is a very clever and simple system but the main disadvantage is increased wear. Ceramic wheels could be the solution.

Sorry that I have to doubt those informations: I fully understand that IWC has produced with the 69xxx series a "downgraded" chronograph movement, I mean that it ranks under the 89xxx series. The main goal was (according to factory sources) to produce an extremely reliable chronograph movement that can be produced in a steady quality in large quantities, for entry level IWC watch groups (namely Flieger and Aquatimer series). This goal is fully understandable and reasonable. But I would wonder if it turned out that they've "built in" kinda mine with an important component having the disadbantage of increased wear. I could much more understand that the name "Pellaton" is to be reserved to the 89xxx series among the IWC chrono calibers, that has a tad more connection to "high horology" and thus the construction of the winding system has to be a bit different too. That's what they call now "pawl" winding. I do not thinnk that there are ceramic parts as this would also rank the movement upwards but at the same time I think that it would be very, very good that parts prone to wear could be made e. g. from ceramic.
A detailed technical article about the 69xxx would be really fine. I'm very happy that the first scans showed the day-date version which is very important, and a later upgrade with a flyback would also be fine - after all the ETA-Valjoux 7750 also has a flyback version, though not used by IWC.

UPDATED:

The 69370 uses no ceramic winding wheels. It features 2 steel winding clicks and an automatic wheel made from brass.

The caliber has a Richemont Standard automatic system, a click system close to the Pellaton winding system. Both systems are working with 2 clicks, but in the 69370 one is pulling and one is pushing, while in the Pellaton winding system both are pulling. Other differences are found in the bearing and the connection of the rotor and the winding system.

Peter N.

Hope the best :)
Regarding retail prices: I was trying to find out the price ranges of chronographs (German prices). Of course I might be wrong in this because lots of calculations and I had to guesstimate things, but - taking into view steel chronos on non-steel bracelet, a chrono with 69xxx movement will be priced lower than the one with 89xxx by cca. 2.900 Euros and will be priced higher than the 79xxx driven watch by cca. 1.400 Euros. I think it is a fair and acceptable price calculation. Of course maintenance prices will rise too, it would be good to know the odds too.
I wonder what the others think about this.
Best,
Robert

I've update my prior post after verification.

Hi, could you explain where you got the information from?

From an interview with Stephan Ihnen, the Technical Director, A very kind professional.

See also: monochrome-watches.com/george-kern-christiaan-knoop-stefan-ihnen-new-ingenieur-chronograph-classic-new-calibre-69000-movement-family/

The regulating organ show some optical similarity with that of the ETA 2892-2 can you verify if they are the same or just similar? If so, what are the main differences? Thank you in advance!
Robert

The movement has been designed and developed from the ground up for IwC by IWC and Richemont Valfleurier. See the article for differences with the eta/valjoux 7750. Hopefully I will receive pictures of the movement w/o rotor. I will try to compare when I get those.

Anyone having info about how the 69xxx family will be reserved for IWC only? I hope it will be found only in IWC watches, unlike e. g. the 8-days handwinding movement. I have really, really high expectations, both technically and the mentioned "IWC-specificity"... :)

Roberto, I do not think you will get an answer to that other than speculation. IWC said that the movement was built specifically for IWC based on IWC-specifications, in particular the position of the small seconds. The calibre number is IWC specific.

So I would not expect anything to happen soon (my interpretation).

Now, if you ask me and I start to speculate, Richemont would be pretty stupid not to use the knowledge and/or - parts of - the (design of the) movement for other watches. It is a huge investment to develop and produce a competitor of one of the most reliable movements in the world. If and when they do: I do not have a clue, and I don't think that such information will be disclosed (I know I would not if I were part of IWC, which I am not).

Like you, I also have high expectations of this "workhorse". I know IWC does too. Testing have been intense: 500 watches had been produced just for testing purposes during 1,5 years. The new production processes in the new production facility are built to ensure consistency in quality (see the remark about automated oiling). All nothing new to Rolex and Omega but it is new for IWC.

Expect a lot of people to look at sales numbers in the first few years. To me (again, personal opinion) this largely depends on how the watch will be priced compared to watches with similar movements. After all, there are a lot of competitors.

In my opinion, the clean design of the Chrono will help. But I have a preference for 'leaving unnecessary things' out and for functionality/simplicity. So I am not representative.;-)

I would be absolutely thrilled if IWC decides to launch an Ingenieur Automatic based on the classic design with a cal. 42xxxx movement. Anyway, I am drifting away from the subject.

Hope this helps.

Thx for your comments, highly appreciate them!