Mark,
I feel your addiction pain brother. Many of us Forumers suffer day to day with the same aliment as you. It stems from a virus for which there is no cure.
Our only salvation is this Forum support group who truly understands the situation.
Can't wait to hear what Watch #28 will be !
Best,
Andy
Thanks Andy for your kind words and SUPPORT!
Number #28 will be a surprise to me too - I have my eye on a Mark XV.
Hi Andy,
Well, just got watch #28 on the weekend! It's not IWC though. Here's a clue. It's from 1955, the maker is Swiss with a Greek sounding name, model refers to stars in formation and it is Cal 501.
It started in 1998 when I came to a new company where my boss was wearing an IWC 3706 Pilots Chrono on bracelet. I always admired that watch on his left wrist during meetings and once asked him what it is. That was in 1999.
When he told me it was an IWC I checked out the web and found out about a watch company in Schaffhausen which is in fact less than 100 km away from the place in Southern Germany where I live. I knew the Rhine Falls but I didn't know about IWC before. Then I found out about all the wonderful watches from IWC. Two years later, in September 2001 after buying a cheaper German made Automatic watch looking a little bit like an IWC Pilots Watch I started off buying my first IWC watch: A Mark XV Pilots watch. Then I joined this forum where I was lucky enough to having been invited to several Collectors' meetings hosted by IWC. The first one took part in September 2002 in Schaffhausen.
Since then I am a fan and admirer of IWC Schaffhausen, the wonderful watches they invent and produce and of this unique community on the web which is outstanding and which I am very proud to be a part of since 12 years now!
My first IWC: the Mark XV admired by my first child
IWC meeting mixed group shot September 2002 at the gates in Schaffhausen
Group shot of the German Forum group in front of the Rhine falls and Schlössli Wörth (very fine dinner with fantastic view)
We were all younger then ;-)
Two Icons of IWC's history ;-)
Georges Kern in his first year at IWC in the cloister of Allerheiligen next to IWC's headquarters officially welcoming the first official IWC collectors meeting in Schaffhausen
And i though that IWC came from the States....:)) How ironic it can be ;)
Welcome to the forum!
Well you are partially correct. Mr F. A. Jones, the creator of the company was American. He established the manufacturing business in SCHAFFHAUSEN, far from the traditional centre of Swiss watchmakers.
It started way back 1967 when my dad gave me a MICKEY MOUSE watch as a gift from Japan. As a young boy I grew up around trucks engines and we had a gas station.
High school came and saw my best friend wearing a ROLEX date just.I promised my self one day I will buy my self the same watch , the time came I had the dream ROLEX I wanted but every one was wearing a ROLEX! I said to myself I want something different! Something UNIQUE, SOMETHING LIKE IWC! That started my addiction and started buying IWC's and now I just got my latest watch the IWC BIG PILOT!
Love IWC!
SUNDAYFLIER
Welcome to the Forum, SUNDAYFLIER!
What are your other IWCs?
Hi Mark, I have the IWC AQUATIMER CHRONO,SPITFIRE CHRONO, PILOTS CLASSIC CHRONO,INGENIEUR MISSION EARTH , LADIES INGENIEUR WITH GOLD INDEX AND HANDS and
the latest is my BIG PILOT. I have a small collection of different brands ROLEX,
TUDOR,OMEGA,PANERI,BREITLING,BVLGARI but IWC got me hooked.Perhaps the reason why
I got to love IWC watches specially the pilot chronos is because of my love of flying, it's one of my passions.
All the Best,
SUNDAYFLIER
hi,
i never thought id buy an IWC but my friend convinced me after showing me the IWC 544501 vintage portuguese hand wound.
i went to see the watch with him and bought it instantly.
regards,
Essa Tawakul
It started the first time i saw a picture advert of the portuguese 5001 with a grey dial. Much later i discovered it was called ardoise and this model was made only in a white gold version. Quite a cooler, finance wise. But , here i am now, 10 years later. It never left my mind and 2 months ago i found one i could afford, in perfect shape, and i couldnt have been more happy with it. Thank you IWC for making THE most beautiful watch in the world.
Cool, Nice story with a happy ending! Welcome to the Forum.
Proof that even after 10 years, "stunning" never goes out of style. BTW, that variation IMHO is the one ! Congrats Dutchtime and enjoy.
Cheers,
Andy
That is quite a cool story. And a happy ending.
My grandfather owned a beautiful IWC and he gave it to me .
After a few years burglars broke into my flat and stole it.
I was really sad and felt guilty for it.
I decided to buy another vintage one but it was not the same model.
Thanks to this site I managed to identify (more or less) the model my grand father owned and I would like to ask you whether you believe I could find one .
Models, from your Vintage Catalogue Project could be :
1941-42 Catalog (Blue Edition) n. 57 or 59 or 60
and
1941-42 Catalog (Grey Edition) n. 107 or 110.
Thank you very much for your work and your passion.
Alessandro
Several things over several years, really. A very complicated Citizens watch I saw in a jewelry store window back around 1990 was the first time I realized watches could tell me more than just the time and date.
My wife buying a Rolex in St. Martin around 1992.
My Dad's Longines from 1943, which I inherited when he passed away in 1992.
Sometime after all of this I started reading about watches and learning about the various brands and complications, and truly grasping the difference between a mechanical watch and a quartz watch; then between a hand-wound and automatic watch.
And then one day I woke up and realized I could own a mechanical (my first was an Omega Seamaster Chronograph).
40-50 watches later I have an IWC collection which is large and wide (2 Da Vincis, 2 Portuguesers, and 3 Ingenieurs) and a few other brands, all of which I figure out a time to wear.
And of course, it won't stop there-I already have my heart set on another Portuguese, a 5001.
Hello,
8 or 9 years ago, when I have visited my Uncle in New York. In one store I saw for first time mechanical watch and suddenly I wanted one.
Inherited a watch from my grandfather. A ref. 1818 (or so I believe) with bracelet in gold, with gold(en) dial. The watch is currently sent to IWC for service.
While waiting for the watch to come back, I could not help myself and got a Portuguese Automatic. Now I am using (too much) of my spare time reading up on watches and movements, utterly fascinated.