Yacht Club R911A: Gold plated or 14k case?

Dear all,as you can see, I have an obsession for the C-shape Yacht Club I case :-)I thought the obsession was overcome as only one of the two blue marble dial Yacht Clubs remained. But this week, another golden one has found me ;-)

Here is what I have found out so far:
[list]
[]Reference R911A
[]Serial number in the inner case back: 2011XXX = 1970
[]Serial number on the movement: 2094XXX
[]Movement reference engraved on the movement: C8541B
[]Caseback engraving: Handed over in 1974 for 25 years services rendered
[]Golden case but steel case back: quite usual for the reference R911A
[]As Heiko Bertram stated in his 2012 overview, the case of my golden watch is „thinner“ as the steel case (causing a lower volume).
[]The crown seems to be gold plated as the plating on the fish is worn out.
[/list]
So far, I thought Yacht Clubs with gold plated cases were not existing ;-)But my search in this GREAT forum revealed that there seems to have been a 200 µm gold plated version, too. Heiko Bertram: „There are also golden YCs with steel case backs and probably a variant with a 0.2 mm thick gold plated case and a steel base.“Now I have some questions for you regarding my watch:
[list=1]
[]Is the watch case made from gold or is it gold plated? How can I find out?
[]Does the A in the reference R911A stands for aurum = gold?
[]If it is gold: why is there no gold punch on the case?
Or do I simply do not know where to look for it?
[]Which reference would be the one for the gold plated version?
[]Could anybody provide the page from the IWC dealer book for the R911A?
@cellar : do you read this? :-)
[/list]
And two general questions:
[list=1]
[]Where do I find a reference overview about the Yacht Club models?
[*]I am too stupid to find the IWC forum search :-(
[/list]
Thanks in advance for your feedback!Greetings from Germany,
Christian

Sorry I cannot answer your questions,
But, let me be the first to congratulate you on a fabulous Yacht Club and fleet

Hi Christian,

first of all congratulaitons on a fabulous watch and welcome to the forum.

I don't have a clue about vintage watches. All my knowledge is from what I read here or hear from my fellow IWC vintage collectors.
Said that as I'm working as a software engineer I try to sort out many things by logical conclusions and probabilities.

So here is my wild guess conclusion:
[list=1]
[]Your golden case doesn't provide a gold punch it probably isn't made of solid gold => speaks for the gold plated case version Heiko mentioned
[]Your fish crown seems to be gold plated because it's worn out and you can see it. I can't imagine the watch left the factory in Schaffhausen with a solid gold case with a gold plated fish crown. The only way to come there would have been an improper replacement which is possible but not very probable => speaks for the gold plated case version Heiko mentioned
[*]The same as for the crown in 2. I would state for the caseback. It would be probably a golden caseback too with a golden case. Or it was replace one day but why should it? => speaks for the gold plated case version Heiko mentioned
[/list]
So my overall conclusion would be that it's really a gold plated case and not a solid gold one. But as I'm as far from being a vintage expert as from flying to the moon, who am I to tell? But I can tell you the watch is very cool and beautiful, congratulations!

PS: The forum search function doesn't exist at the moment but we were told it'll come back very soon with the new forum software release.

Hallo Tilo,

thanks for your welcome and your wild guess conclusion!
In Germany we say: "Glauben ist nicht Wissen" which means "Believe is not Know".
On the other hand, it is great to just THINK about it together and see what we can deduct.
So your Sherlock Holmes approach is greatly appreciated!

Let's go through your points:
1. no punch no gold? most likely :-)
2. I had an Electronic with an 18 karat gold case and it had a gold plated crown which was worn out in the same way.
Additionally, it could be a service crown as you stated. So we still do not know.
3. Google search provides a lot of R911A Yacht Clubs with gold case and steel case back. This was reported by Heiko Bertram, too.

So your points are well taken but provide no proof ;-)
Let's continue with the detective work!

In parallel, I will try to contact Heiko Bertram or cellar via this forum as vintage Yacht Club experts.
Maybe they know...

Yours,
Dr. Watson

Hello Vintage Yachtclub,
interesting question you brought up. From what i know the R911A comes with a 14karat gold case with a stainless steel back.
I have investigated quite some Auction Catalogs and Books and all stated the Yacht Club mixte model with 14k Gold case and steel back.
Finally i found the following image in the 1972 IWC Catalog of Greg Steers page.

It also states the 14k with steel back.
IWC has made a small amount of gold plated (80 microns) watches, but most of those appeared in the 1940-50. 

br Cromagnonman

Hello Christian,
I think the comment of Cromagnonman is very clear.
In all advertising material from IWC ref. R911A has a case made of 14kt gold.
I further believe that "A"does not stand for gold but it could also be steel (Acier), referring to the steel case back.
Finally a golden crown is never made from 14 ot 18 kt gold.
Gold is too soft and the stem for winding cannot be fixed in a sturdy way in gold.
Therefore the crown is gold plated, while the inner material is steel.
Regards,
Adrian,
(alwaysiwc).

Just spotted this thread.

My investigation on Vintage YC was some years ago.
But, no additional hints about gold plating yet !

So, my current opinion is, it will be more likely that golden ref. 911 cases with steel case backs are similar to Ing. ref. 766 cases.
Those 766 have massiv 14 carat cases with steel case backs.

This info about gold plating is the only one I have ever found, but now I am quite sure, it is not true.

www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?00&ranfft&&2usau&1091026990

Sorry for that confusion some years ago.

Regards 

Heiko

Hi,

I think the A in the reference number is for Automatic.

Best regards,

Henrik

Hi

The A in the reference number uses the same coding as the reference numbers of old ingenieur watches (ref 666A and 866A or 666AD and 866AD).
The A indicates that the watch is automatic. There could be also a D that shows that there is a date. Therefore your R911A is a R911AD.

Best regards
Wil

Dear
Cromagnonman!
Adrian!
Heiko!
Henrik!
Wil!

You answered my questions so fast:
Thank you VERY much!

Now I know that my Yacht Club R911A has a 14k gold case!
WOW! So it is not only pretty but precious!
I am more than happy to know.

My final questions are:
1) Where can I find an overview about the Yacht Club I references?
I am confused by 811 and 1811 and 911 (but no longer by the A and AD :-)
The dealers book page is of course very helpful but talks about 1811 only.
Is there a dealers book with my R911A, too?
At least I did not find one on Greg's homepage.
2) So that means that the golden case of an IWC must not be punched?
Interesting! I thought that golden pieces are always punched but of course, I am not an expert.

Again:
Congrats to the information sharing in this forum!
Really amazing!

Finally, I will provide some better photos when my golden beauty is back from its spa at my watchmaker.
As I have only these two Yacht Clubs now, I will not be able to share more with you.

Greetings from Germany,
Christian

Qeestion 1
There are exellent overview articles on the vintage Ingenieurs and on this forum as well for the Polo and Golf Club by Hebe.
But I am not aware of such article on the Yacht Clubs.
Information predominantly has to come from catalogues and advertising material which is increasingly rare and difficult to get
Question 2
IWC used to punch its golden cases for pocket watches but not always for wrist watches. Your Yacht Club is not an exception of this policy.
Beste Grüssen,
Adrian,
(alwaysiwc)

Hallo Adrian,

thanks!
Funny that there is no such overview for the Yacht Club which I believe to have been and still being more popular as the Polo or the Golf Club.
I have in my files Heiko Bertram's YC overview which is great but does not contain the reference number overview.
Anyway: love for our beauties is not depending on numbers :-)

Have a great time,
Christian

Hi Adrian,
some YACHT CLUB details are included in Part 3.
And it is still on my server.

Beste Grüße

Heiko

derjonk.de/lizard/club-sl-3.jpg

Even more congratulations on your gold case Christian.
The steel caseback and the plated fish crown was sorted out well by the experts here - and I've learned another thing or two, that's what makes this forum really special and appreciated too.
Now it's just the question why there's no 14K punch on the case. But maybe it was polished or kind of worn away as it looks quite used - which means its history is full of life which makes it very valuable.
Anyway I really like those historic Yacht Club models. Maybe I have to go and get one as well sooner or later. Just have the Portuguese Yacht Club right now which only shares the name with the historic model.
Wear and enjoy your historic beauty!