An overlooked contemporary IWC collectible?

There's more about this watch in a few, but not many, archived posts. Unlike all other contemporary limited editions this one uses a special case as well as a unique dial and back. And personally I've always been a fan of cushion shaped cases. Plus it's a homage to a watch IWC produced in the 1930s, and sold in limited quanities under the brand name Urania (more on that in the archives too).

I suspect this model is not more popular due to its relative inaccessibily, given that it's a commemorative edition for one retailer, and also because it's 38mm in width. But might those be positives 20 years from now?

Regards,
Michael

I like it a lot and retrieved info

from Huber. I found the price for a 3-hand watch quit high (comparing to a Portofino)... but it's an attractive watch!

Has anyone form the forum that watch?

Any wristshots?

Martijn

Nice retro looks

It seems that the modern watch is quite a bit bigger than the original, so the seconds subdial looks a bit odd, being small and a bit far to the centre. In the original it was small too, but more to the side. I wonder what calibre was used in the modern watch, was it a hand wound movement?

Kind regards,
Paul, wearing Saint Exupéry Chrono

Not overlooked. Just too expensive. (nt)

jlc 822 (hw) ?

like the personality and the vintage look (perhaps inspiration source/experiment for the contemporary VC line?), like less the movement if it really is the 822, would have prefered one from IWC tradition.

surely it could be positive on the long run - imo

Funny

I just discovered this watch this morning while surfing the internet. I like the cushion case very much, and I'd like it even more if it had a black face and center seconds. It would make a really cool dress watch.

Only one thing not to like that stopped me cold:

I love vintage look watches

I love cushion shapes

I love the looks of this watch

I love that it is an IWC

It costs [i]how much[i]?

No IWC-movement?

Is it the same movement used for the small Portuguese Automatic about 10 years ago? That makes the watch relatively expensive, like that Portuguese really was.

Kind regards,
Paul, wearing Saint Exupéry Chrono

I love that is really looks 'classic'! nt

no, kleine uses 891, I'm sure of that (nt)

The only 100% IWC handwind today is the Jones....

....in several variations, all of which would have been too large for this watch. In addition, this watch "needed" a small seconds design, which for all practical purposes necessitated a handwind.

Given a small seconds movement of this size, the only realistic candidate would have been a JLC. Even though this is a JLC base, I consider that more in the family, and a finer base movement in a horological (but not necessarily practical) sense, than the ETA-based watches IWC uses. They also are more expensive, of necessity due to the greater finesse in details (many newer collectors don't realize or fully value the craft elements in movements).

In terms of expense, everything is relative. Compared to most watches using fine, non-ETA movements, this one is not that high. Perhaps especially so given the costs associated with a small limited edition in a unique case. I saw one recently for sale for about 4200 Euro, which I thought was right in line.

Michael

Panerai inspiration finally revealed (nt)

So this Urania-Huber IWC is a hand wound?

Then the JLC movement used is different from the one of the small Portuguese Automatic.

Doesn't this really make the watch a Urania-Huber JLC? What makes this a IWC?

Kind regards,
Paul, wearing Saint Exupéry Chrono

I really like it...

It has a beautiful dial and I also think the shape makes it "feel" vintage.

Best regards,
Jim

what makes this an IWC? assuming you're serious...

...then the literal answer is that the watch is made by IWC. Just like your beloved St Ex Chrono, with its ETA-Valjoux movement, is made by IWC. Just like the small Portugieser, with its JLC base movement is made by IWC. Just like the really nice Mark XII is made by IWC, and probably at least three hundred other IWC models. It was designed, assembled, and produced by a factory in Schaffhausen.

In fact, I would argue that a JLC base is more "family" than all those ETAs's out there, although I have no problem with ETAs in lower-priced IWC watches or in specially elaborated ones. Also IWC has used this base movement before in a few models.

But regardless your question is answered by the dozens upon dozens of watches most collectors have accepted for decades as IWCs, and none of them call them IWC-Swatches or IWC-ETAs or IWC-JLCs, let alone Huber-JLCs (I assume you weren't being snide by calling it a "Urania-Huber JLC" ).

IWC assembles and finishes the movements to its specifications, but buys the movements elsewhere. It is only in the past few years that IWC has produced most of its wristwatch movements itself, at least since the late 1980s.

Regards,
Michael
P.S. I just was checking and found another one with an asking price of under 4000 Euros. So much for too expensive in my book...

Collectible

Well, I am aware that a lot of watches have ETA- or other movements. I was not complete in my question though. I implicitly thought that when a watch might be collectible, then the origin of the movement might matter. For that reason I was curious about the movement. As a new watch I have no problem with this watch, or with my Saint Exupéry Chrono, I actually like it. But I am not quite sure whether those watches with ETA- or JLC-movements will be collectible like the Jumbo Inge or the Jubilee Portuguese.

Kind regards,
Paul, wearing Saint Exupéry Chrono

not true at all

There are dozens of very collectible IWC watches with non-IWC base movements.

The collectible non-IWC based watches include the 1995 Schuetzenuhr (see the link below), many of the rare Mark XIIs, several of the rare Porsche Design models, the extraordinarily rare Ref. 3710 (with its Valjoux base), and many others. Of course, most ETA or JLC based IWCs won't be that collectible in the future, for the same reason that most IWC-based movement watches won't be --only a few of each genre make it into demand.

Sorry to disagree, but of course that what makes a horse race. There are a lot of new collectors who are coming to the party and many of those have different values or understandings. Some of these newer collectors buy contemporary watches and aren't familar with all the special IWC watches made in the last 25 years or so. And that, in itself, might shape the market,

That said, I wasn't raising the idea of future value but only addressing your question about what makes this watch an IWC and what it should be called. I didn't think value was part of that question, nor my answer,

Michael

click here

Earlier in the year

I had a chance to try one on in Zürich and I do like the cushion case - but the dial was not to my taste. I agree that this is certainly a collectable though.

Andrew