The barn find

Hello dear friends,

my passion for watches started over 30 years ago with an IWC Porsche Design
Ocean 2000. And for 30 years, the fascination for Oceans has not left me.
As an officer in the German armed forces, I am proud that the Kampfschwimmer
and Minentaucher of the German Navy as well as the lFernspahkrafte of the Army
also had the Ocean on their arm as a service watch for a long time.

That's why I'm particularly interested in the Ocean BUND. Recently I managed
something that car collectors would call a "barn find".

After a long search, I found an Ocean BUND reference 3509 that was worn in the
Unit until 2005 and then sold by the Bundeswehr via VEBEG in 2006.

Together with a lot of accessories and above all in a condition with a patina
as if the combat swimmer had just taken it off. The owner in the meantime has
not worn it a single day, so it is still in exactly the same condition as it
was sold by the Bundeswehr.

I am a very happy collector after a successful hunt, because you don't find
such an Ocean BUND anymore.

Here is a picture of the 3509 with two other Oceans from my collection.

What do you
think about the Oceans? Do you like them as much as I do?

Cheers,

Sascha

Beautiful watches and extremely comfortable to wear.

Normally, the untouched Bunds coming from the Bundesmarine look very 'used' ,
full of scratches.

I would leave it as it is now.

Some collectors have published together an extensive article about the Ocean
Bunds.

And 'hebe' is famous on the forum for his photography and data about them.

I can send it to you as an electronic version. if you wish. Please ask the
moderator my private email address.

Regards,

Adrian,

(alwaysiwc)

Thanks Adrian.

i already met Heiko in person. He is such great guy and he knows almost
everything about the Oceans ind especially about the Ocean BUND.

And of course i know his great photos. My plan is to let the watch how it is.
Every single scratch it telling a story. Imagine what this watch has already
experienced and where it has been... I was an active part of the special
forces for some years and know what is done there. This watch breathes
history.

Cheers,

Sascha

Legendary watches and a fantastic Barn Find :o)

Well, the T patina colors are great, but T luminous materials start to crumble
at some point. Then it is necessary to convert to SL.

So, I will keep this 3H as long as possible with the T dial.

I will treat the Ocean 2000 as well ...

Heiko, would you have a 3H dial and hands refurbished by a specialist and
covered with SL? I really want this 3H dial to stay in the watch. As far as I
know, IWC does not offer such a service. Nor do they offer 3H dials as service
dials (SL luminous material would then also contradict the technical marking
of the dial).

Cheers,

Sascha

I have no experience with refurbishing dials. All SL dials and SL parts came
directly from IWC.

My personal experience with exchanging T - to SL dials is a few years ago. So
it currently could have bee changed.

During a service by IWC, it was also possible to swap from T to SL, even the
bezels.

Unfortunately IWC kept the replaced T parts from BUND watches.

I would ask IWC directly about the current status.

Regards

Heiko

Thanks a lot Heiko. Until today the IWC is keeping all the changed parts. For
a collector
it´s a pitty but that´s the rules.

I think one day when the Tritium on the 3H is not longer stabile i would try
to refurbish the dial and the hands.

And of course i will report my experiences here.

Cheers,

Sascha

Hello Sascha,

It seems that your 3509-3H already has a SL dial mounted. I do see Swiss at
the dial, but no T markings.

Greetings from a fellow Bund collector from Northern Germany

Martin

Hello Martin,

that's what puzzles me about the watch. I actually thought that there were no
3H dials with SL. Because then the 3H would make no sense at all. However, the
luminous material on the hands and dial is very white and it glows for a long
time. Compared to my other Ocean watches, the 3509 glows more like SL than
tritium. There were a lot of spare parts in the set. Also an old dial, an old
set of hands, a sapphire crystal and lots of movement parts as well as a Geo 2
bracelet in pieces. This is exactly how the VEBEG sold it at the time.

Cheers,

Sascha

Hello Sascha,

IWC replaces old T dials with SL dials. The dials have the 3H symbol, although
SL is now used.

I have some Bund watches with T and also with SL dials in the collection.

Greetings Martin

Hello Martin,

oh great, I didn't know that. I have already seen some older 3509 references
where the old 3H reed was exchanged for a normal SL reed with thread lettering
in the course of an overhaul. I always thought that was a pity, because the 3H
leaf is part of the character of this watch. I see things differently with a
3529.
Here are two more from my collection:

I really love the BUND Oceans.

Cheers,

Sascha

The Ocean range is certainly amongst my
favourites:

Wow Sascha, I love your enthousiasm and great pictures! They are all fantastic
watches, I regret selling mine.

Regards, Bob

I love your enthousiasm and great pictures! They are all fantastic and
affordable watches, I regret selling mine.

The Ocean model, particularly the BUND editions, arguably are the most
interesting of the entire Porsche Design lot. I have also read that the
Compass 3511 in titanium was considered one of IWC's greatest Porsche Design
watches.

Alas, I am obsessed with the much lesser-loved Porsche Design of the "Big
Three." My pick of the bunch is the Titan automatic chronograph, especially
the reference 3700 from the first year of sales in 1981. I have two nearly
identical 1981 versions, seen here flanking one of the last versions
(reference 3704 from 1996) with the latest improvements to the model.

Gosh, I hope the photo isn't as large as it looks on my computer! One day I'll
really have to invest the time to figure out how to post pictures that are
properly sized!

Wow, the IWC Porsche Design Chronopgraph is one ofmy all time favourites.
Great shot!

Cheers,

Sascha

More like oozes history!

....great legacy right there and clearly it foundation deserving home.

Know it is possible to repair unstable Tritium. I have seen it before and
secured Tritium material you should not have to change to SL parts and keep it
all original. I think that's a good option to keep tja watch fully original.
;o)