Replacement dial for Kurt Klaus Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar 376207

Hi, I hope this is the right forum.

I bought a Kurt Klaus Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar earlier this year in January. It was a showroom piece, and the last available in stock.

Shortly after, I took it in to the nearest IWC boutique for servicing - a routine one and also just to make sure everything was alright. I did notice, inter alia, some specks that seemed to be marks on the dial. They were practically invisible to the naked eye but visible under a 30x loupe. A short while after sending the watch in, I was informed that the service would be performed free of charge under warranty - which was nice given that I wasn't sure whether such service would be chargeable.

It's been a few more weeks. The boutique has just came back to me to say that the service is problem-free except for one aspect: the dial would need to be replaced to fix the specks. The trouble is that IWC does not have stock for the dial on the 376207.

However, they do have the dial from an earlier batch of Kurt Klaus Perpetual Calendars. I think this might be from the 376204. The differences are supposedly very minor. As best as I can figure, the guilloche pattern on the older batch is slightly more matte than the glossier finish on the newer ones. There seems to be slight colour differences in the labels on the Day, Date and Year sub-dials. (Would much welcome any help identifying any further specific differences.)

And, so I have 3 choices:

A. Accept the original dial, albeit with the minor imperfections. Watch ready in ~April.

B. Replace the original dial with a new dial from the earlier batch of Kurt Klaus, presumably the 376204 ones. Ready in ~June.

C. The most interesting choice, imo. Schaffhausen is prepared to commission a special production run of the dial to the specs originally used for the dial on my watch. But this will take until ~November to retool and produce the dials. [Update: I forgot to mention that I get the watch back for now, until the new dial is produced, and that IWC will do a second servicing of the watch movement when they replace the dial.]

I thought I would seek the views of those more experienced with these watches on the forums. All 3 options are at no additional cost to me, which frankly boggles my mind. It goes to show just how far IWC will go to deliver good service.

My personal view - I reckon C is the way to go. I see the watch being more of a potential heirloom and special occasions watch, not a daily-use watch. So not having the watch for most of this year isn't a big problem. I suppose the ideal would also be to avoid a franken-watch, however small the variation between the 376204 and 376207.

So yeah, welcome any advice people might have to offer. Thanks in advance!

I understand where you are coming from, however, my choice would be B. There is a reason for that, a friend has an IWC that has been redialled and new hands about two or three years ago. The replacement have not stood the test of time and need replacing already. The service centre has rejected the replacements sent over from Schaffhausen, so my friend will be on his third set when he gets the watch back.
Just ask for a photo to be emailed to you of option B just to satisfy yourself they are acceptable. Otherwise you have a long wait until November and you have no idea as to how the newly commissioned dials will come out.

I like option C. If you are able to take a look at the dial before they case it then you have your own quality control.
If you don't like it then option B is a good alternative.

Option C is good since it means that there will be stock dials for the future for others when the service and dial replacement is required.

A 30x loupe will find imperfections on most dials. I agree with Andrew that the dial maker ought to have the opportunity to produce a new batch of improved quality.
IWC will need to keep a few in reserve to replace the existing batch of lesser quality dials so it is no great hardship for them.

Good luck!

i would take option c

and do keep us all posted with what happens.

good luck,
thang

Hi,

Congrats on your new DV PC and the guilloche pattern on the dial is really one of a kind I have ever seen.

I would choose option C if you can wait and have you try to ask for option D, where you use option B and wait for the new original dial to be available & send in again maybe next year? This could save some down time and enjoy your watch. I am sure with IWC impeccable service, they could always arrange something for you.

Opton 'C' as this keeps it true to its IW Reference number.

Personally, if it was my decision, I would go with option C. It may be some time away but would love to see some pics when you get it back.

Cheers,

Jarrod

If you want your watch to remain "original" you should wait until IWC can supply the dial originally designed and produced for the watch, regardless of the time it takes. I would.

First, I would check if I would see the imperfections myself. If not, I would leave it as it is, other, more visible imperfections will join anyway, like minor scratches on the case. You also might wonder why you would like everything to be absolutely perfect, even for the money you paid for this watch. I at least have very minor points of criticism on about all my watches, they don't bother me, they don't stop me liking my expensive watches, as everything about them ooze the class that makes the price feel quite OK.

If you go for the redial, I would go for option c, but I would request to be able to keep the watch until, say, September. As the imperfections are very minor, you can still enjoy the watch in the meantime.

Kind regards,
Paul

Thanks guys. This is very helpful.

I realise I didn't mention that if I chose option C, I would get my watch back with the original dial perhaps in April, and be able to hang on to it until the new dial is produced in October/November, and bring it back. Because replacing the dial requires removing the movement from the watch, IWC also says they will re-do the regular servicing - again at no extra charge - while the dial is coming off and being replaced anyway.

Thus far, I gather most people are of the view that I should go for Option C.

I'm not sure I'm brazen enough to ask for Option D = Option B followed by Option C; that sounds a little demanding though not unheard of.

Greg's point in favour of Option B is well taken. I would hope though, that given the trouble taken and conscientiousness with which IWC have dealt with me so far, that if Option C's dial were in any respect imperfect, IWC would probably be committed to rectifying it too. Call me optimistic, but so far I have not been disappointed...

As additional background, the main reason I brought the watch in was that the date functions were advancing alarmingly early, rather than at midnight. I figure this might have been because of unknowing customers inadvertently playing with the quick date adjustment while the watch was serving as a showroom piece. But the marks on the dial were also barely visible and there were quite a few of them; if it were just one I suppose one might ascribe it to inadvertent marking by a tweezer or something.

Anyway, do keep your views coming. Much appreciated and especially the reasons you give, which will be helpful. I told the boutique IWC reps that I would probably consult around on forums and let them have my decision in the next few days.

Finally, hope everyone's having a good weekend!

Your latest post makes this a very obvious decision if you ask me - go for option C. That way you can enjoy your watch all summer, you will get a free complete service and adjustment, and you keep the originality of the watch.
Basically a "no-brainer" ;-)

Not to difficult to C that C is the way to go :~)

Thanks for all your views.

C is it, I guess. I just wrote to my IWC boutique representative to confirm.

I will keep everyone posted on the outcome!

Many thanks again for your time and opinions. While I suppose I was leaning towards C anyway, your views were helpful in validating my own line of reasoning and were much appreciated.

Cheers,

I received a call from the boutique over the weekend to say my watch was ready for collection, pending of course the production of the replacement dial some 7 months later.

Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. The main reason I had brought the watch in for servicing was because the day and date indicators were advancing at about 10pm, well outside of specs. This was documented on the service request form.

I was told that the watch would undergo maintenance servicing, and also had some cosmetic issues fixed. Anyway, I picked up the watch, unscrewed the crown and pulled it out to the number 2 position. Then I advanced the time. 8pm, 9pm, 9:30pm, click - the day wheel advanced.

Long story short, the watch is back in again. Not sure if it was a misunderstanding, but I question how something this obvious had been missed in the maintenance service. Granted, it's not a fill overhaul, but I'm pretty sure it's not meant to be just a cosmetic touch-up.

Does anyone know what exactly is done in a "maintenance service" to the movement, if anything at all?

According to the IWC catalogue, 'Maintenance Service' "...mainly involves replacing the case seals and testing the water-resistance. Apart from this, the movement is adjusted and the escapement is cleaned."
As opposed to a "Complete Service".

Tell them you want the watch to be send to Schaffhausen and not local service centre.

I am sure they will do that and you will get your problem fix at by the wizard of Schaffhausen.

I thought I would close the loop.

After the failure to fix the date advancing mechanism, they did fix it to spec, and then we waited a couple more months for the dial to be produced.

The dial was made and I duly sent my watch in in mid-November. Two weeks ago, I got the call that it was done and went down to pick up the watch.

This time, it's absolutely perfect. It took the better part of a year but it was worth it!

You've shown enormous patience. I am very happy you are completely satisfied! Good luck with that very special watch.

Al well that ends well - and you have the watch you chose and to spec!

Happy for you and great service from IWC too. As Ralph wrote - a 30x magnification is going to highlight things on any dial!

Wear in good health and thanks for having closed the look on this one for us.

delighted to hear there's been a happy ending albeit took awhile.

now how about some photos of the gorgeous watch in question!?

best wishes and enjoy your KK DV beauty!

regards,
thang

A very good outcome. It took a while but the results were worth it.
It's time to enjoy your special watch now.

So glad to hear you have it back and you are completely satisfied - you certainly made the right choice! Yes, now let's see some pictures!