... it was in the Schaffhausen Museum in January during the SIHH week. needless to say, I was spellbound.
The proceeding months of on-and-off digging into this timepiece made me realize how rare it was.
Here is an attempt to list most/all of the Yacht Club editions, in chronological order:
Yacht Club, ref. 811A (later renamed ref 1911), circa 1967 with cal 854 (no date)
Yacht Club in Steel, ref. 811 AD (later renamed ref 1811) with cal 8541 (pellaton winding system, with date, non-hacking seconds)
Yacht Club, ref. 2611 with cal 89 (handwound)
Yacht Club II, ref. 3212, with cal 8541, circa 1980/1
Yacht Club II (Quartz), ref. 3311 (among others), circa 1977-1985
Lady Club (Quartz), ref. ?, circa 1985-90
(additions & corrections welcome: would love if this could be an exhaustive list of all the Yacht Club versions - pics too ! )
ref 811 / 1811
Yacht Club II Quartz circa 1980.
The history and details of the Yacht Club I and IIs are well-covered in this article written by Meehna Goldsmith, whom I had the pleasure of meeting in Hong Kong some months back, and which Michael was involved in:
blogs.christies.com/longitude/brands/iwc/iwc-original-yacht-club-an-affordable-and-collectible-classic/
www.iwc.com/forum/en/discussion/58486/
And in the followup posts to that thread, and my request for 'anyone' to show a pic in the metal of the Yacht Club II Automatic, Tonny prompted me to his post when he acquired his white-dial ref 3212: www.iwc.com/forum/en/discussion/18121/
...and ...so with that great article, Tonny's report, and re-looking at the pic I took in the Museum, that pretty much jump-started again my hunt for this piece. So the steady hunt began from August - I am a big fan of Gerald Genta influenced case octagonal designs - and this one is no exception. I suppose my ref 376501 Titanium Ingenieur (2011 edition) being in the shop for servicing further fueled a need to procure a familiar octagonal case design.
...and it was two weeks ago that one surfaced for auction bidding - and I was absolutely kept on my toes throughout the duration of the auction. Advice and input was sought from Tonny on valuation and the like (thank you Tonny!) -- it didn't help that it would end at 4 am Singapore time, while I was in Singapore to celebrate a fellow forummer's nuptials...
BUT - as fate would have it, it would be mine. So here it is - my Yacht Club II Automatic ref 3212, a day old:
I am informed by the seller in Germany that I am the second owner of this timepiece - it belonged to his grandfather and was purchased some thirty years ago. I have a few pre-owned pieces, but being able to communicate directly with someone who knew the original owner intimately, and knowing the provenance of the timepiece is something very new, novel and very humbling at the same time. To me timepieces inevitably are passed down from one 'generation' to another - if I were to adopt a loose definition of 'generation'. I am perhaps meandering into some over-sentimentality here, but I feel strongly that if it finds its way to an appreciative buyer & wearer who hold it in high regard, that time-piece has found a right home. The watch's lineage makes this piece incredibly special and I am convicted in giving it a great home.
As I mulled over when, how and what to post, I was tempted during the watch-in-transit phase to consider posting pics of my Portuguese Yacht Club Chrono with this magnificent as a 'predecessor-successor' comparison. On balance, I think I will keep this post 'pure' :)
Thanks for reading !
