.
Now, this choice by Tonny raises the bar, once again !
He has opted today to share a fine timepiece - a Cal. 73 in an elaborate gold
case. The condition of the watch is like NOS - New Old Stock, and the box his
watch came with is the finest example/best condition original box I've seen
todate. During the mid 1920's to mid 1930's, wrist watches were beginning to
become the option of choice for most men. Most up and coming youngsters wanted
these new fangled things that sat on your wrist and not an old fashioned
Pocket Watch.
Yet, we see that there remained a clear market for Pocket Watches, and many an
elder gentleman wanted to be seen with elaborate gold pocket watches. As we
see with Tonny's example the case work was elaborate.
I have similar C.73's in my collection (almost but not in as good a condition
as Tonny's watch shown). Here is an example of a Cal. 73 watch dating from
1938 in my collection. As can be seen in the COA - Certificate Of Authenticity
it's case is of 14K Gold and the movement too is GILDED and blasted. There
is no mention though of the fact that the dial is pure gold as well.
However, the watch I wish to share with you today to complement Tonny's
magnificent watch is one that I saw come up for sale, and imeadiately skipped
over it. It simply was not original/correct. Although I was pretty sure that
the case and movement were original, it appeared to me that someone had
executed an elaborate repair on the watch fully replacing the crown stem,
crown and the bow.
I had never seen such a small dainty crown neck on an IWC pocket watch, and
yes the smaller ladies pocket watches had ornate and smaller crown stems, but
not to this level. However, the more I looked at it - the more I was
intrigued, and after checking the date of the watch with the seller, secured
it.
The Watch
This watch was sold on December the 31st, 1925 to Adolph Schwartz of Budapest,
Hungary.
It is in it's original box, which fits it like a dream (sadly, the box is
nowhere near as good condition as that of Tonny's)
Now look at that Crown Stem and Bow (which looks completely different from
anything we see elsewhere. For a start, it's completely round and much larger,
almost out of portion to the Crown Neck and actual watch. It appears to be an
after market cheap replacement in stainless steel or silver.
Upclose, one sees the tiny crown itself - smaller than a crown on any modern
IWC today.
And as is the example that Tonny shares, the casework is truly stunningly
intricate too. Look at the side case edging on this watch.
And for me as a Collector, the most unique feature of this watch is that once
I sent it to Schaffhausen for inspection, David Seyffer the Museum Curator
came back with the amazing news, that on checking the archive records for this
watch it is specifically noted that the bow on the watch is White Gold !
I have never anywhere else seen this on an IWC (or so I thought - more of that
at a later stage).
But all in all, it remains a unique plain Jane Cal. 73 dressed up with a
special neck attire and beautiful blue steel'd hands.
