The only way to establish a watch’s authenticity is to have it examined thoroughly by one of our watchmakers in Schaffhausen.
An extract from the records includes a short description of the model, the date of sale and the name of the first owner. An extract can only be issued for watches more than five years old that were not produced before 1885. However, in the case of certain models such as the Special Watch for Pilots, the W. W. W. Watches Wrist Waterproof or the Pilot’s Watch Mark 11, the early Ingenieur models, the very first Portuguese watches and all IWC watches produced for military purposes, the watch must be sent to Schaffhausen.
The order can be sent by email to "customerservice@iwc.com(Customer Service Email)":mailto:customerservice@iwc.com. For an extract from the records, we require the case number together with the movement number (engraved on the movement itself). An extract from the records is not a certificate of authenticity; it merely confirms that the case and movement numbers are correct.
It is certainly possible to identify fakes by comparing data, but even if they do tally, it is still no guarantee that the watch is genuine.