Question About Vintage Watch

Hi, I'm wondering about the authenticity of this watch? Case serial no.
2115297, movement is a Cal. 89 serial no. 1958598. The inside of the caseback
above the serial number says "1818". Thanks.

Hi FAUCJ.

absolutely authentic! The 1818 in the caesback is the reference number. Most
of the Ref 1818 Watches come with an automatic movement of type 854 or 8541.
The handwound version with Cal. 89 is no seen that often. I find the dail
withit's combination of roman numbers and plain indexes very attractive.

Your watch has a cal. 89 movement dating from 1970. The later versions also
your are timed to 2 or more positions and come with a nice cap jewel on the
escape wheel. This brings up the question why it sataes 17 jewels on the
center bridge. The normal version of Cal 89 comes with 17 jewels, with the cap
stones on the escape wheel i count 19 jewels.A total of 223800 pieces of Cal.
89 where produced, it comes with a Breguet overcoil hairspring and ticks at a
modest rate of 18000 A/h 82.5) Hz. The production time for this calibre was
1946 to 1976 where yours was made in the 3rd last batch of production.

Gorgeous watch in good condition.

br

Cromagnonman

Hello Cromagnonman,

Thank you for your knowledgeable answer - I really appreciate it. It's great
to know the movement details you've pointed out, and to hear your confirmation
of the watch's authenticity.

The watch has been certified as authentic by a CW21 watchmaker in my area.
However, I haven't discussed the details with him yet (I'm picking it up from
him today), and I wanted to double check.

According to "Date Your IWC," the movement dates from the year 1970 and the
case was "most probably" produced around 1975 and delivered up to 1976, so I
wasn't sure if the difference in year was a cause for concern.

Thanks again for your reply.

What a beautiful, elegant watch! It would be nice to see this model
reintroduced with a modern, automatic caliber.

Thanks for the comment, Allan. I agree. My tastes tend toward the clean and
uncluttered. It would be nice to see this model reintroduced.

Hi Allan and FAUCJ,

i once owned the following watch about 15 years ago, i sold it for another
watch but i regrett it till today.

It was a Ref. 1818 with the 8541 automatic movement.

br

Cromagnonman

Hello Cromagnonman,

Wow - that's a beautiful watch. Fantastic. Thanks for sharing.