HOW DID YOUR FASCINATION FOR MECHANICAL WATCHES START?

I recently was given a vintage IWC from my Grandmother. From doing my own research I believe its from 1941 or 1942 but am uncertain. I would love to know more about this watch since it is an important family heirloom. Would anyone be able to help?

Welcome to the Forum.
We would be happy to help you :-)
Start a new thread under "Vintage Timepieces" post good pictures of the dial side, caseback, crown and movement if you can open it or any serial numbers that you might know and we will try assist you.

When I was a kid I used to drive from Sydney to Tamworth with my mother every school holidays to visit my grandparents. While I was up there I used to like going through my Grandfather's collection of National Geographic magazines. I remember sitting on the floor in front of the book shelf for hours on end going through them and looking at the photography and reading some of the captions as I wasn't yet at the stage where I was reading the articles. It was at this impressionable age that I succumbed to Rolex advertising. I don't think the charm of old Rolex ads needs much said on a watch collecting forum like this. I then told my mother that I wanted a Rolex watch when I was older (since i fancied myself a budding explorer, scientist or deep sea diver) and she said no that was silly and expensive (or words to that effect). So not only was I interested in the idea of a good watch, I was told I shouldn't! The dream festered, driven by the inevitable feeling of wanting what one can't have and shortly after my 21st birthday I bought myself a Rolex Explorer 214270 with my own saved money and I swore to myself that would be my one watch.

Well, here I am with my new Portugieser and the start of what I think will be a great collection motivated by a genuine life long interest! I'm also very glad to be a member of this forum, and a proud IWC owner.

My father in law got two IWC watches from friend. One is the pilot watch 3706007 and the other one is Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar 375803. As my father in law knew that the I love the watches of IWC, so he gave me these two watches. Actually, they are really beautiful watches and became my first IWC watches too.

Then I am more than happy to buy my first Portuguese yacht club chronograph 390208 last month and I am proud to have these IWC watches :-)

Amazing how popular this thread has become, starting with such an inoccuous first post by an, until now, one-timer.

My first recollection of watches comes from my father's watch when I was about 4 years old. It was a small watch, and had a dial full of numbers. The one that caught my eye was the 11. Without quite knowing what it represented it was the repetition that I liked, apparently some kind of order that showed its strength. The turning of the hands was just amazing, the intricate yet simple way it could indicate time: it was about the most interesting thing I learned for a long time.

When I bacame 10 years old I got my first watch, I could choose between three models. I chose a watch with a lot of numbers on the dial.

All my life I kept my interest in watches, and the number-thing returned once in a while, like in 2003 when I bought this beauty.

Although I had my short fling with quartz watches, mechanical is all there is in my watch world right now.

Kind regards,
Paul

Beautiful Watchs

This one really in an interesting one. I can't exactly remember when my love for mechanical watches started but I vaguely remember when I was around 4 or 5 years old, one day, I decided to examine my dad's watch, the way he used to do time to time with his very small screwdriver (which I always thought it was a toy!). It was a hot summer afternoon when I quietly went to his room perhaps knowing he would not approve, and opened his desk drawer, took out the watch and screwdriver set and tried to open back of his Omega watch.

I don't know what model it was but I clearly remember the Omega sign (could not read at the time of course) with gold hands and gold case with a brown leather strap. I started pushing the blade of the screwdriver against the case back and voala a few scratches later, I managed to open it and I clearly remember this part that I started playing with oscillating weight and turning it! God bless your departed and my dad soul, you should have seen his face when he walked in the room and saw me playing with his favourite watch! He never told me off or said anything but his face was showing a great deal of disappointment or anger perhaps?! He smiled and took the watch from me and just said "No dear, this is not a toy" I think the watch or back case was damaged as he never wore it again.

To be honest I don't know what happened to the watch as I was a kid and this happened more than 40 year ago just at start of popularity of quartz watches. So I never bothered to ask him what happened to the watch even years later and as of this day I really don't know what happened to it!

By introduction of quartz watches, I lost my interest in mechanical watches and became addicted to Casio watches which were coming out everyday with different funciton, alarm, dual time, calculator, barometer, just name it. Digital watch took away all those glories until late 90s when I started appreciating the labour, craftmanship and work behind making mechanical watches and genius brains behind those complications which fascinates me even more.

I hope my story was not too long to bore you.

Cheers

Haha, there is some lesson learned here. My parents told me they decided to store everything of value and danger out of reach, that is, above about 1,5 meter. Much to the dismay of my sister and me: all those interesting things far, far away. Luckily there were enough objects left with which we could surprise ourselves and our parents. I still take care where to store stuff, like my watches, as an adult I don't like unpleasant surprises either.

Kind regards,
Paul

In the mid 90's, as a teenager and Formula-1 fan, I couldn't help noticing that tiny red-green shield shaped logo in bottom the corner of the screen. It read "Tag Heuer", but i had no idea what it was.

Until the day my dad came home from shopping with a brochure bearing the same logo. I only found out then that it was a watch brand. I instantly fell in love with their Link Chronometer model, especially the muscular look of the bracelet.

Of course I couldn't afford it, but few years later, fresh out of college and after my first work month I spent my entire first salary on a Tag 6000 SS/Gold Chronometer, that i bought second hand from a gipsy musician in Budapest. My mum almost chucked me out, along with my watch. I had to sell it, but it turned out to be lucky, having sold it for twice as much.

This experience, and my love for gadgets lead me into trading second hand stuff - first laptops, that made my living for years. Being in my twenties at this time, constant partying and chasing girls put my passion for watches in the background.

Then my best mate - who was a watch nut - passed away, and I approached his mum that I'd like to buy his '65 Rolex Oysterdate, as a memory. Again, I managed to spend all my savings on one watch.
The following week I moved to London, the hassle of starting a new life kept me busy for a while.
I met a girl (the One!), years went by, proposed to her, started to plan our wedding. A big chunk of the budget was still missing, but the date was coming up quickly, I had to raise ~£4000 from nothing in 3 months. lightbulb moment: watches! Heureka! Since I was always fascinated by history, this time I combined my passion for history with watches, and got myself into vintage pieces.
I've come across a '71 Zenith El Primero at a bargain price. Bought it, and to my surprise I managed to sell it on with a massive 150% profit. Bought 3 more watches and managed to raise the missing funds before the deadline!
After the wedding I bought about a dozen fine watches - totaling out all my credit cards - and started trading with them, on the side.

I'd like to point out, that profits have always been secondary, dealing with watches has always been more like a way to fuel my passion, and the means to be able to own, touch and wear all kinds of fine timepieces.
To take it to the next level, I learnt into photography, so I could capture my beloved pieces for memories, and to be able to present them in a way that I can pass my passion for details onto others.

Today I own my first dream watch Tag Link, my late mate's Oysterdate (these two I'm never going to sell of course!), along with ~40 other watches, ranging from Universal Geneve to Omega's, IWC's, Tag's, Breiting's, Zenith's, JLC's, El Primero's, and the list goes on...
Right now I'm at the stage when I spend 25 hours a day reading forums, articles about vintage mechanical pieces, models, history. Funny thing is, the more i get into it, the more I realise how little i know. And the more fascinated i get, the list of the watches i desire only gets longer and longer... i got to the point where I'm seriously thinking about starting a watch trading business, so i have the opportunity to own all the pieces on my shortlist (or shall I say longlist?)! :)
I'm sorry to have bored you with my long story, I was only going to write few lines, only realised in the meantime how this all happened...
Let me say bye with my favourite quote that describes the impossible "why mechanical watches?!?!" the best. It goes: "I love my mechanical watch because it needs me".
Peace to you all,
Levente Kovacs

Fantastic story, Levente Kovacs, this is true watch passion!

Kind regards,
Paul

Thanks Paul :)

Wonderful read, levente, true passion and enthusiasm. And a great story. Thanks for sharing it.

When I was young, my father's beautiful gold watch was stolen at our home. I decided to buy a pilots watch. At the time after a long period of asian wristwatch domination, iwc presented the new Fliegeruhr Mark XII. I was so fascinated about this XII. I is a really understatement beauty. The clockwork is the famous cal. 889/2 from Jaeger Le-Coultre. But the price was so high, that I ask my wife, to buy it for me. Finally it was one of the particularly deals of my life.

It started when I was stationed in Switzerland. Later on I realized that Finland is in fact homeland for many great watchmakers who work in Switzerland. Kari Voutilainen is perhaps the most known on them. I was very proud - as Finnish Ambassador in Geneva - to read one morning in Tribune de Geneve -that he had won the first prize in a yearly competition of watchmaking. I was already at that time fond of IWC-watches and - not able to buy Voutilainen-watches - felt happy when Kari told me that they are of very high quality as well.
Vesa

intereting read,really passion.

Hello,glad to join here from Porto Alegre, Brazil!

I inherited the interest in watches from my father, who settled from Germany in Brazil in the mid 50s. He used to wear I think was an Ingenieur SL model in titanium and quartz powered.

My first real watch was a classic Rolex Sub date, given by my dad when I turned 15 (imagine that)?

Having gone thru different Rolexes, Baume and Mercier, etc., my wife gave me my first IWC, an Aquatimer titanium 2000 (ref. 3538?). Eventually, all of those got stolen from our home many years ago.

Starting again from scratch,my first choice was the very beautiful Ingenieur 3227 all stainless steel. Really love the heft and cleanliness carried over the original G Genta design.

And now, just two weeks ago and after a lot of time researching for a second addition amongst all different types and brands, pulled the trigger on the stunning Ingenieur doppelchrono titanium in black. It wears very comfortably on my wrist and I admire also the technical development back then by Richard Habring. The blue minute indicators are also gorgeous.

I can't help it. Every time I pass by an IWC dealer or boutique, the walk in temptation is irresistible. Very much appreciate all the history, technology and boldness design approach.

I decided to join the forum in order to enhance my knowledge and experience with likeminded fanatics!

As a first suggestion, by registering, it seems that you country menu does not list Brazil, which is strange as you have a beautiful boutique in Sao Paulo.

Hope to able to change ideas very soon.

p.s.: My granddad and dad were called Kurt and Klaus respectively, does this mean anything??

Nice weekend

It certainly might - we are just beginning to understand the might and grasp of the IWC Uhren-Virus. Welcome to the forum and please feel free to post plenty of photos!

Just buy what you want and wear what you like. It's absolutely unnecessary to comment on what others think. A man's meat is another poison.