VIRTUAL POCKET WATCH MUSEUM DAY 25, cal 53 Qual. Extra

This is the first time that I see a Quality Extra movement, cased in a
niello case. A superb example of Probus Scafusia, if ever.

I have thought long and hard as to what C.53 I can show today, to compliment
your very nice Quality Extra C.53. Of course, it would need to be a watch that
has outstanding properties/condition, in order to do your post justice. So
first, I though of posting this Calibre 53 watch;

but recalled that I already shared this with yourselves way back in the
virtual museum.

So the C.53 watch I want to share with you today forms part of a rather
explosive story, in many a way.

The Watch

This C.53 watch is given it's age, in absolutely suberb contdition. In fact it
ranks as one of the top almost like new pieces in my collection. The pictures
I post here are of the watch as I received it. So, the spots you see are
tarnish marks that will disapear with a light polish.

Here, one can see that the C.53 is lever set (the setting lever is found half
way between the 4 and 5 hour markers).

the case back is magnificently engraved.

All in all a very nice watch - and given it's condtition that I saw on the
photos when it was advertised, I had no hesitation to aquire it at the time.

The watch arrived, and the first thing us Collectors do, is to open the watch
and note the serial numbers.

The numbers seemed to check out in the DYIWC utility - showing a watch from
1905. (last digits of case number removed here - to protect the innocent).

But then to my horor I see that the inside of the case is engraved. Now, know
that in my opinion
engraving is not necessarily a bad thing and to me it adds character and often
an interesting story to
a particular watch. But this engraving was just explosive - in more ways than
one.

• Firstly, it showed that the watch was awarded to it's owner by the Cramer & Buchholz Company -in appreciation of 25 years service.
• Secondly, it shows a date of 1898 !

Explosive - Why?

Well, for a start the Cramer & Buchhoz were a dynamite and
gunpowder/ammunition manufacturer. ****

and secondly, the date of 1898 blew up my joy at having secured a great
original watch. Simply becausethe case number was from many years later!
Clearly, something was wrong here.
A mismatch or horror of horrors a near perfect fake.

So, off I went to Schaffhausen asking if I could obtain a COA - Certificate of
Authenticity. It took about one day for the admin ladies to come back and say
" sorry - the numbers are not matching" (meaning, that the movement serial
number was NOT CASED in that Case with a different serial number.

I had bought a mismatched timepiece - or so I thought.

The next day, I shared with our Museum curator photos of the watch and the sad
story - warning him, that "all that glistens is not gold" and that I had
probably acted to spontaneously. I could Andcshouod of known, that a watch
from 1898
would have had Roman Numerics on the dial.

David was intrigued, and given the perfect condition of the watch decided to
dive deep into the archives. Here's what he found.

The records reflect that movement and case shouod be sold to the wholesaler
Verhagen of Cologne Germany, on the 22nd of August 1905. However, he found
that the actual movement in it was sold later (as a bare movement) to Stuvern
& Spann based in Ulm, Gemany some 600km away. from Cologne. In the archives it
is noted that
the case was a replacement case !!!!

David summarised the facts as follows:

• Verhagen bought the replacement case; Maybe the original from 1898 was broken or something
• Both numbers belong in this watch (as sold)
• Movement was sold later with another case...

This all being kind of strange; taking in mind both the distance between
Cologne
and Ulm of 600km - why should the movement be taken back and then re-assembled
into it's original case?

All in all a mystery - but a 100% "Aus Schaffhausen" Probus Scafusia timepiece
and a jewel in my collection.

The movement - C. 53

Is absolutely pristine

Hi Tonny

IWC made about 3000 Quality Extra. Quality Extra meant the watch was regulated
to chronometer standards. To achieve this goal it needed better than normal
parts/lesser tolerances. About a third, so roughly one thousand have been
officially Observatory rated. The result was, that IWC for about a decade was
the company which - except for U. Nardin and their marine chronometer for
commercial use on ships - submitted more watches for observatory chronometer
ratings than any other Swiss brand.

I'm pretty sure you never saw a Cal. 73 as Qual. Extra: Only the calibre pairs
52/53, 65/66 and 71/72 have been offered as Quality Extra plus some 20 ladies
watches Cal. 63/64.

Anyhow, Qual. Extra watches are outstanding.

Thomas

Indeed, these Calibre Quality Extra's pocket watches are the pinnacle of
timekeeping.

Sometime in July 2016, a good friend in Germany wrote me that one of these
Quality Extra pieces was coming up for sale, and that it would be a good
piece to have in my collection. Now, this person is an absolute expert on
these watches and in addition he wrote me, quote:

" With the Kal. 53 Qual. Extra I forgot to point out it has a very special
device to improve accuracy: Using the swan neck or other fine regulation
devices the balance can 't swing totally free. Therefore accuray on average is
improved by fine tuning via the swan neck, but not in all positions and
temperatures. This problem becomes the more significant, the more the
regulator pointer is turned to the right or the left instead of standing exact
in the middle. Therefore IWC inventend a device to change the position where
the balance spring was fixed at the balance cock. Two alter the fixing point
has a similar effect as using the swan neck fine regulation but allows the
balance to swing entirely free. So it doesn't need any use of the swan neck of
only a very slight use producing only very slight errors."

As such, it would have been very foolish of me not to follow his advice, and I
secured the watch.

Note, the blue steeled hands too.

Movement is engraved with Quality Extra

The case of 14k gold, is clean and free of any engravings.

This watch carries the branding of SMY Dresden on the gold dial, and the sales
ledger in Schaffhausen states that this is correct and formed part of a 2
watch order for Quality Extra timepieces with "cadrans a nom SMY Dresden".

It was sold to the German wholesaler Junge also of Dresden on the 29th of July
1925. It reached my collection exactly to the day, 91 years later.

My thanks to the Collector who pointed out this magnificent timepiece to me.

I hope everyone has detected the nice decoration on the balance cock of Marks
watch.

I think you find it only on the first series of the "Mod 1904" of the c.52/53.

Someone has seen it on others ?

A funny thing is, that you find many c.73 as Chronometer, what is from my
point of view identical to "Quality Extra". I think the c.73 (and naturally
the c.77 :-) ) was produced so accurate, it was possible to make (regulate) it
into a "Chronometer" without additional "modification" (=most time different
Balance).

Regards

watch77/Ralph

PS. There are few late "Extra" marked c.95. There I am not shure what the
"Extra" stands for. Most time they had additional jewels on the Barrel.

a) The word "Chronometre" from about 1915 to the mid 1930ies was not protected
by law. So every watch manufacturer, who deemed his products of decent
qualitity, was allowed to put "Chronometre" on the dial.

b) IWC submitted pocket watches for rating to several observatories from 1915
to 1949. Amongst them no Cal. 73/74/77, nearly all 52/53/71.

c) Whether a Cal. 73 could pass a rating without technical
modification/preparation depends on the observatory. Kew in England has not
changed their requirements since the late 1880ies, so due to technical
improvements in the 1920ies nearly any watch was able to pass the rating
procedure successfully. The Swiss observatories continously tightened the
requirements to assure, that only high-end products got awarded a chronometer
certificate.

I have a Qual. Extra Cal. 52 manufactured in 1928 awarded a chronometer
certificate from the Neuchatel Observators II. Class. It is not a normal Cal.
52 technicalwise, but got a better balance and presumably was regulated a
little more diligent.

d) "Extra" with the later 952 appears to be a marketing gag alike the
inscription "premiere classe" on some watches retailed by Beyer from Zurich,
Bahnhofstrasse: The ledgers give no indication the watches were better
equipped or have enjoyed a special treatment/regulation. Not the description,
nor the price differed from watches not inscribed "Extra" or "premiere
classe".

Regards

Th. Koenig

Many thanks to THE expert of chronometer classification for IWC watches.

Kindest regards and thanks

watch77

P.S. He knows all piles of paper in the world where a "Classification record"
for an IWC watch could be hidden, and found the apropriate paper ... ;-)

P.S. P.S: What about c.65/c.66 and c.72 ?

P.S. P.S. P.S : The early "Quality Extra" had as mentiond special "fine"
balances and a very carful regulation. (As now Rolex (sorry to use the name
here) and IWC watches also pocket IWC watches of the 30ies could reach
chronometer class just by carful regulation). Actually IWC Watches reach this
requirements without certification and using it as marketing instrument.

Until 1917 (including the year 1917) IWC has submitted 828 watches in
Neuchatel for an observatory rating. We have to add some from Geneva, 70 from
Leipzig and a low 3-digit number from Kew, in Kew nearly nothing but Cal.
71/72.

After WW I only 144 watches were submitted for a chronometer rating in
Neuchatel, i.e. 53 Cal. 52, 20 Cal. 53, 39 Cl. 65, 14 Cal. 66, 17 Cal. 71 and
one, the very last in 1945, a Cal. 72 from 1904. 2 watches were submitted
twice, so 142 real watches. So, Ralph, your gut feeling was correct, that
their were Cal. 65/66 as well. However, watches with movement numbers higher
than 650,000 were only Cal. 52 and Cal. 71 - that was what I recalled
neglecting that WW I and pre-war production was submitted for ratings as well
after the Great War.

Regards

Th. Koenig

Just a last question. "Qual. Extra" was basically given to have an prooved
chronometer testing at an obesevatory.

Later we see c.73 and c.77 marked as "Adjusted to 6 Positions". So maybe this
is the reason why there are no Qual Extra of them, as they where simply not
tested as obervatories, only in house.

Do you, Mr Koenig, know what quality limits where user for this "Adjusted to
6" positions watches?

Many thanks for the great information

Watch77

Now, I need a Cal. 77 watch with "adjusted to 6 positions" with 22 jewels !

Hello Dr. Ehrismann

a) Qual. Extra does NOT say the watch INDEED WAS rated by an observatory, it
does only say the watch WAS REGULATED TO THE CURRENT STANDARDS of Neuchatel
and Geneva. About two thirds were only regulated to this standard, not
submitted for a rating at an observatory, but instead shipped with an inhouse
Bulletin de Marche. About one third was submitted for an official rating to an
observatory, mainly the Neuchatel Observatory.

b) The Cal. 73/77 "adjusted to 6 positions" probably have met the chronometer
standards (I don't know, because we have found no specs regarding "Adjusted to
6 Positions"). But I assume they were produced for the US market (where the
market deemed he number of jewels the standard to judge on the quality of a
watch) as in the US market for some reason or other observatory chronometre
ratings were not deemed high, not from US observatories, not from Swiss
observatories. Based on the "railroad standard" of former times, the market
asked for information in how many positions a watch was tested. So I'm pretty
sure these watches were made for and sold in the US (via Henry Blank or
others).

Hope this helps

Th. Koenig

Dear Th. Konig

Many thanks for the adjustment of my assumptions of "Qual. Extra" =
Chronometer certificate and the clarification of teh "Adjusted to 6 Positions"

Kinddest regards

Ralph

Ralph, here's another one in silver case from 1902