Tuesdays Tour of the Archive

This week a little on Porsche Design.

As always it is worthwhile to follow the subsequent posts as well as the link in the original post.

Cheers from the cellar

PD's relationship with IWC

This was a topic...

about which I've been curious since reading MF's article on the Bund watches. Thanks for providing another interesting tour!!

Best regards,
Jim

As always a good reminder, thank you

It is humbling to read posts realising that one is re-reading what was interesting the first time 'round and should therefore have stuck in the memory ... still interesting, though. Perhaps this time I'll remember.

A curious question - how do you remember the posts you pick?

Cheers, Dirk

Thanks cellar

Very interesting look in the history of marketing!

Kind regards,

Clemens

Thank you cellar excellent tour (nt)

Very interesting, and memories coming back

In the summer of 1989 my wife and I visited Davos in Switzerland, and saw a watch shop with IWC. For the first time I entered an IWC AD, looked around, and asked for a catalogue. I got two: a white IWC catalogue and a black Porsche Design / IWC catalogue. I took them out just now and gave them another look after many years. The white one still had a lot of pocket watches, the Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Chrono, some Ingenieurs, Portofino's, the 1850, a lot of yellow gold. At the time I thought they were old fashioned, for older men, interesting in a funny, almost bygone way. The black one had vibrant watches, sporty in all kinds of shapes, a lot of titanium, all kinds of functions too. Looking back, it was like the dead white world and the alive black world. Two weeks later, on our way home, I bought my first IWC in Chur. Of course a Porsche Design IWC. The Ultra Sportivo: titanium, small, sleek, quarz, the perfect watch. Not too expensive too. The AD showed me a small titanium quartz Ingenieur too. I didn't like it, and it was much more expensive. The AD tried, by saying that the polished titanium case and bracelet were very special, but it just didn't have the looks. So, I played my little role in saving IWC by supporting the other brand.

Splitting up Porsche Desing and IWC was wise indeed, but only because IWC came a long way to become the brand that it is now, with six proud families. I remember that at the time I thought it to be stupid to split up, and only regained interest in IWC when seeing the rise of the GST line, in an add in a German magazine. I bought the small titanium quartz chrono, and got for a few years a free subscription of Watch International. That was the real beginning: marketing and channels, they are really interesting.

Kind regards,
Paul, wearing yellow gold Portuguese Perpetual Calendar, as a result of wonderful pictures and description of it in Watch International

IWC Porsche Design Ultra Sportivo 3335

Wonderful memories

My first IWC was a PD compass watch. Without that connection I don't think I would have "discovered" IWC as soon as I did. I am very pleased to have purchased that first one and all of the other IWCs over the past 20 years. With this inspiration, I will wear that watch tomorrow.
All the best,
Gary

Answer to the curious question

I've tended to pick articles that I remember as interesting, but sometimes I search for something that is topical or educational and in this case I noticed that in 18 months I had not mentioned Porsche Design once.

I keep track of post I think about in a spreadsheet, which usually has about 10 ideas that are ready to go on a given Tuesday. The spreadsheet also keeps track of the post I've made in case I forget and double up!

Cheers from the cellar

keeping track - thanks, Greg (nt)