The IWC Disco Volante post

Hi everyone! As most of you I've been collecting and researching early IWC Disco Volante watches. I think they are absolutely gorgeous and so different from each other. 

I've done extensive research which includes contact with IWC, browsing every single #iwc on Instagram, every auction auction catalogue I could find online, Reddit, Forum market places etc. You name it. After all this research I have come to find 12 examples. I will post them in 2 pictures. 6 of the pieces I currently own, and the 6 other known pieces. 

The first picture is of the 6 pieces I currently own. 

1st example : The journey began when I spotted the gilt Sandwich dial example. I did not recollect seeing another IWC Disco Volante this early. I sparked my interest and I started researching them. The owner was very reluctant to sell. After a while he decided the watch should be with me and I was able to aquire it. I found it in the Czech Republic. 

2nd example: The second example I found came from a collector in the Middle East. He had the example with the white dial and Roman numerals listed for sale. I spotted it and was able to aquire it. 

3rd example: The third example I purchased was the steel case with gold tone applied numerals and has a puncao. I was offered the watch by a mutual collector friend of ours in Portugal. The watch is incredible. Pure, core IWC DNA that looks so warm and charming. I absolutely love that one. 

4th example: The fourth example was shared with my via Instagram. A lot of fellow watch friends on Instagram spotted this one in a trader his Instagram Story. After some communication, he decided to sell the piece to me. This was the steel gilt dial piece and came from England. 

5th example: The fifth example came in my collection because it was shared with me by someone who works for IWC. He recognized the watch which was listed on a German version of Ebay. Due to him sharing the listing I was able to aquire it, for which I'm super grateful! It came with a COA too. It is the gold example with Roman numerals and came from Germany. 

6th example: The sixth example appeared in an auction not too long ago. Maybe a couple of years. I tried to hunt this one for a long time, without succes. I found a post on the forum and reached out to the collector. He eventually decided to sell and will pick up the watch in May in person in England. Super nice with the centre seconds too!! 

Now we land in unknown territories. The other 6 examples of which we have no clue where they currently are. Well...for some that is. 

From the top row of the pieces in colour, there is few information. But there is some. 

7th example: steel case and Roman numeral dial and square gilt hour markers. 

This pieces appeared in 2012 at auction in Los Angeles. I've not seen it since. Absolutely no idea where she is. 

8th example: steel case and salmon sandwich dial. 

Location known. It's in Australia with a collector/trader. I am in contact with the owner and hope to eventually get first right of refusal. I love that one. 

9th example: 18k gold case with sector lemon dial. 

This piece has appeared at auction twice, but way before I started to collect them. It was sold by Swiss dealer PlusUltra and I'm in contact if he can represent the current owner in a possible deal so I can add this gem to my Disco Volante collection 😍

Now we really land in the unknown. 3 pictures in black and white from catalogues. 

10th exmaple: case material unknown. Thick bezel and Roman numerals with applied hour markers. A crazy piece. Appeared in a catalogue from 1940.

11th example: case material unknown (presumably gold) with a coin edge case band. Stunner too! Appeared in a 1939 catalogue. 

12th example: case material unknown. Appeared in a catalogue from around 1946.

It is believed IWC has an early Disco Volante in their vaults. But it's not known which example, if any. 

I am super curious! Is there anyone who has more recent pictures of the pieces of which I could only find black and white pictures? Is there anyone was has spotted one of those ever? I am hyper curious about these!!!

If I have missed an example please let me know! 

Have a lovely weekend my friends. All the best and love from me ❤️🍀❤️

Hello koen...there are examples kicking around with cut-grooved bezels and stepped bezel variants ..though the general ufo shape youve illustrated are not solely matched to that nomenclature ... lugged variants especially with concealed or semi concealed crowns were often known by this name pre instagram . Watch companies did samples of the style with short lugs up till the very early '60's...the 803 mk1 being a case in point.

You are absolutely correct. 

Multiple brands endavoured in the Disco Volante style. The style began, from what I've seen, in the mid 1920s up untill the mid 1970s.

The earliest examples, such as with IWC, Longines, Movado, Universal Genève and Omega had no short lugs. A bended, soldered ran along the inside of the caseband. Making it appear the watch had no lugs at all and making it look like a perfect circle on the wrist. 

When we approach the 1950s, we see different styles emerge like the one you described. Very short lugs, integrated bracelets and automatic movements (although IWC Cal 401 is a handwound movement and also used for the Disco Volante watches, particularly with integrated bracelet designs). These usually came with dials similar to the Yacht Club. With both silver sunburst dials and, very rare, blue sunburst dials. Also nice strange gold examples appeared. Even with ghost dials, where only the long script font is written out in full. 

I am particularly drawn to the earliest examples when the style was very novice to the world in general. Since those are the earliest designs, in my mind, they are the truest definition of Disco Volante. Even though also the examples with very short lugs do qualify as a Disco Volante. To me those are evelutions of the style. 

Thank you very much for you insight. I appreciate it a lot! 

I think it's very special how such a particular and rather strange design had such a long lifespan. The earliest IWC Disco Volante I know of is the gold example with lemon sector dial, which is dated from 1926. Recently I've held a gold example with Roman numerals dial in gold with a gold bracelet, which was dated from the mid 1970s and had a quartz movement. The style has seen many changes, both technical and design wise, while in essence it's just a circle. It's evolution of design with as little design as possible, which makes it very interesting and unique to me 🥰

I have a different impression...i seem to think the dv moniker was dreamt up and used for certain automatic watches ( invariably with sloping bezels),  the fact the more primitive lugless variants were earlier was a little by the by...but of recent times the moniker's been stretched...the use of dv opposed to ufo was a nod to proportional beauty, an obtuse vagrancy within language 

Brilliant research Koen :o)