IWC 3601: Rotten sealing problem

Dear all,

my name is Christian.
I am from Germany and this is my first post in the IWC forum :-)

I LOVE vintage watches.
When it comes to dress watches, I ADORE the vintage Yacht Club I design.
In the meantime, I have five such watches (2x automatic, 1x hand-wound, 2x Electronic tuning fork movement). You can call me "Yacht Club crazy"...

In the near future, I will present my Yacht Club collection.
Today, I contact you regarding a problem with my 18k 3601:
the watch is very nice, came as a full set and the movement is running very well.

BUT:

The sealing is completely rotten :-(
My watchmaker has cleaned the inside of the caseback and found a fitting new sealing.
The problem is the other part as the rotten sealing has „connected“ the 18k case with the „movement holding ring“ and the movement itself!
Although my watchmaker has taken away the movement holding screws and pieces (the German word for that is Briden :-) the movement cannot be taken out of the case.
As everything is glued together and as there is not enough space to put „something“ between case, ring and movement, we do not see a way to separate the parts to get them cleaned.
Using any solvent or liquids like oil to wipe the glue apart seems not to be a good idea as this liquid will „creep“ in direction of the movement what has to be avoided.

That's why I ask you for support:
1) any experiences with this problem?
Maybe that is common with this type of sealing for this special model?
2) What would you recommend to do?

Thank you very much for your support!

Best regards,
Christian

Take it to an authorised dealer for them to send to your service centre. Clearly this watch has had poor service for many years.

I would try a hest treatment. If you carefully and slowly heat up the case the sealing should become softer and softer, thus allowing to pull out the movement. Maybe you/your watchmaker have to scrape off the first layers of the sealing before the movement comes out. But to scrape of the first layers as well works better, if the case has been heated.

But you have to be very cautios as you have an electronic movement, not a mechanical one. If you/your watchmaker aren't sure to keep the temperature at a level which does no harm to the integrated circuits you should send the watch to Schaffhausen.

Regards

Th. Koenig

Dear feedbackers,

thank you very much for your recommendations!

Of course, a spa in Schaffhausen is the most appropriate cure for the issue with my Electronic. On the other hand, it is the last resort :-)

So I will see what my watchmaker can do and will keep you posted.

As a first thank you and a little appetizer to my Yacht Club presentation to come, I attach a picture of my favorite IWC dress watch.

Best regards,
Christian

Finally,
my watchmaker could separate the movement from the case and could remove the rotten sealing. The main cause for the case sticking to the movement was the formation of copper rust on the movement holding ring which "glued" it to the case.

A dirty job but it was done nicely :-)
Thank you Gerd!

The vintage Hirsch Dakota strap was now equipped with a vintage IWC gold plated buckle so I think my 3601 now looks as good as in 1977!

Here is some photo documentation:

I like the result a lot!

Best regards,
Christian

Great, congratulations. I like the result too. A skilled watchmaker can bring back the smile on your face- wonderful ;-)
A fantastic beauty anyway ...

Thank you for sharing this beauty with us.

More important, for rescuing this handsome timepiece.

We look forward to your "Club" post showing the entire collection.