Vintage IWC R802A (8541 movement)

Hello all,

I've just aquired this lovely vintage IWC, case number R802A with the 8541
movement. Dated to 1967 by the combination of the movement and case serial
numbers using the online tool (although other serial number lists date it to
1966). The watch came with an IWC signed Milanese mesh bracelet which is
lovely, but I'll probably have it on a leather strap most of the time. I have
a few questions for the experts on here..

- I've read that there is an online collection of vintage catalogues, but I
can't find a link to them that's active. Do these still exist?

- Searching for this particular model R802A online I've found a few other
examples that look like mine, except that most lack the large "IWC" dial logo
and only have the "International Watch Co. Schaffhausen" logo. The dials look
otherwise identical however and it seems that the IWC logo came and went, so
can I assume that this doesn't necessarily mean that the dial has been
swapped?

- The movement doesn't hack and can't be "back-hacked" either, which for me
is a little inconvenient. I know that some examples of this calibre did have a
hacking feature. I'll be getting the watch serviced at some point. Is it
possible that a good watchmaker could add the hacking feature if the extra
parts could be found? If not, could the watch be modified to "back-hack", e.g.
by tightening up the friction on the appropriate pinion?

- This watch was reasonably affordable (in about the same price bracket as a
similarly styled Omega Seamaster or Constellation of the same vintage). I
notice however that IWC Ingenieur models from the same period are much, much
more expensive desipte having the same movements and often similar styling.
I'm curious why this is.

Thanks)

Forgot to post the images and the edit feature seems to be broken in several
ways... ;-)

Many thanks!

It really is a lovely watch to wear and use. It seems that there isn't much
information anywhere about the various case models around this time. When I
search for the case number online I find some cases that are identical to mine
and some that are a little different (different lug shapes). I wonder if the
case backs got swapped around fairly frequently. Also, the R802A seems to be a
less common model. At least in my watch the caseback serial number and the
movement serial number are close and both suggest the same year of
manufacture, so I'll assume that I do indeed have an R802A (or R802AD).

Here's an odd thing. I found this scan of the 1970 catalogue
online:nakahiro.parfait.ne.jp/catarog1970/moji/iwc1970.html

On the second page on the far left is a watch with reference 802 AD according
to the caption. This doesn't look quite like my watch, but it does look like a
number of online pictures of watches with the R802A caseback number, such as
this one: www.bonhams.com/auctions/20746/lot/146/

In these watches the lugs are a little longer and narrower than on my watch,
are curved slightly downwards in side view, and lack the chamfering.

However, I have also found several images of watches previously for sale that
seem to have exactly the same case design as mine. They all have the R802A
reference, and interestingly, they are all engraved/gifted as 25 year service
gifts for employees of the Swiss engineering firm Sulzer Brothers:

www.catawiki.com/en/l/46883813-iwc-r802a-men-1960-1969

www.catawiki.com/en/l/40805409-iwc-no-reserve-price-r802a- men-1970-1979

uhrforum.de/threads/iwc-automatic-ref-802a.307837/

This might imply that the casebacks were swapped when they were engraved -
however, I can't find any images of cases that look like mine and are
associated with a different case back number. In fact, there are very few
images of watches with this precise style of lug, and they all seem to have
the R802A caseback reference.

The bonhams watch could be a not well stamped 808....

The iWC catalogue watch looks what it is (cambered lug ends)

You think my watch looks like the one in the catalogue, and the Bonhams one
more like an 808?

That would solve the problem.. It's just so hard to tell with the poor
resolution of the picture in the catalogue scan. I'm not seeing the "corner"
of the lug where the chamfer meets the main part of the lug at the end..