This is my sneak preview to the IWC Jubilee collection in pictures and text …
The IWC Tribute to Pallweber Edition “150 Years” (Ref. IW505002)
IWC’s frst-ever wrist-watches to feature jumping numerals in a digital display are one of the special highlights of the Jubilee collection. They show the hours and minutes in large numerals on rotating discs.
IWC was already using this form of time display in pocket-watches back in 1884. With the Pallweber pocket-watch presented in summer 1884 IWC ushered in the digital era, and the frst pocket-watches with jumping numerals left the workshops. The latter were based on the Pallweber system developed by the Austrian, Salzburg-based watchmaker, Josef Pallweber, and showed the hours and minutes in large numerals on rotating discs.
Johannes Rauschenbach-Schenk, head of IWC at the time, was fascinated by this modern approach to displaying the time and secured the patents for the handless watches. However, since toothed cogs were responsible for the energy-intensive job of advancing the display discs, the power reserve of the Pallweber pocket watches was relatively limited. Although IWC succeeded in signifcantly improving the design, the Pallweber pocket watches, of which around 20,000 were produced in Schaffhausen, were a commercial success for only a limited period of time. The production was discontinued in 1890.
The 18-carat red gold wrist-watch, the IWC Tribute to Pallweber Edition “150 Years” (Ref. IW505002), features a white dial with a lacquered fnish, white display discs, and a blued seconds hand. As a reference to the design of the historic Pallweber watches and a tribute to F. A. Jones – the American watch-maker who founded IWC – the windows of the digital display are labelled as “Hours” and “Minutes”.
This wrist-watch is available in a limited edition of 250.
This version of the IWC Tribute to Pallweber will be sold for 38.000 CHF including 8 % VAT.
The IWC Portugieser Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition “150 Years” (Ref. IW590202)
The watch has a platinum case, a white dial with a lacquered fnish, and blued hands. It is available in a limited edition of 15.
For the frst time, the new IWC-manufactured hand-wound 94805 calibre with a power reserve of 96 hours combines a constant-force tourbillon with a single moon phase display that only needs to be adjusted by 1 day after 577.5 years. The patented constant-force mechanism transmits completely even impulses to the escape wheel. In conjunction with the tourbillon, which compensates for the negative influences of gravity on the watch’s oscillating system, this achieves an exceptionally high level of precision.
The IWC Portugieser Constant-Force Tourbillon will be sold for 255.000 CHF including 8 % VAT.
The IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Edition “150 Years” (Ref. IW504501)
IWC combines a perpetual calendar with a tourbillon on the dial for the frst time. The Portugieser has an 18-carat gold case, a white dial with a lacquered fnish, and blued hands. It is available in a limited edition of 50 watches.
The watch is powered by the in-house developed and manufactured IWC 51950 calibre. This is an extension of the basic 51900 calibre, with the addition of a perpetual calendar. Made of 82 individual components and weighing just 0.635 grams. The tourbillon is positioned at “12 o’clock”. The watch-designers opened up the calendar advance ring and integrated the moon phase in the month display disc at “6 o’clock”. The IWC 51950 calibre offers a power reserve of 7 days.
The IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon will be sold for 110.000 CHF including 8 % VAT.
The IWC Da Vinci Automatic Edition “150 Years” (Ref. IW358102)
With its small seconds at “6 o’clock” it is the frst watch to be powered by the new IWC-manufactured automatic 82200 calibre with a Pellaton winding system and a power reserve of 60 hours. The Da Vinci has a stainless-steel case, a blue dial with a lacquered finish, and rhodium-plated hands. It is available in a limited edition of 500 watches.
The IWC Da Vinci Automatic Edition will be sold for 8900 CHF including 8 % VAT.
The IWC Da Vinci Automatic Moon Phase 36 Edition “150 Years” (Ref. IW459304)
IWC takes up its former tradition of elaborately decorated jewellery watches…
This was a style the company cultivated towards the end of the 1980s and during the 1990s with models like the diamond-set Lady Da Vinci in yellow gold, Reference IW8435.
The Da Vinci Automatic Moon Phase 36 Edition “150 Years” has an 18-carat red gold case, a white dial with a lacquered fnish, and blued hands. It is available in a limited edition of 50 watches. The watch has a moon phase display at “12 o’clock”. The case and moving lugs are completely covered by 206 pure white diamonds (= 2.26 carats).
The IWC Da Vinci Automatic Moon Phase 36 will be sold for 31.000 CHF including 8 % VAT.
