Gold with steel back

Was
it common
before to use steel in the back on gold watches? And why?

For a typical gold dress watch it was not usual for IWC to use a steel case
back.

However, the vintage Yacht Club and the Ingenieur were not considered dress
watches but tool watches which should be sturdy and shock proof.

Therefore steel was applied in stead of the softer gold.

Regards,

Adrian,

(alwaysiwc).

It was everyday practice
on gold plated watches inside the 80's to apply a metallic returned and no
longer trouble plating the bottom of the links on the bracelet

Hi Kilkenny72,

the Yacht Club Version that you menition is the Ref. 1811 14ct yellow gold
with stainless steel back.

I have added a page form the 1972 catalog (thanks to cellars web page), which
shows all case materials used for the yacht club.

14ct Gold economy version. The 18ct Gold version comes with a solid gold case
back.

br

Cromagnonman

p.s. there wasn't a gold plated version for the Yacht Club