I have a Dream - Part #3 - A tale of dizygotic twins, the Titanic and a brotherhood of friends - Final Chapter

The Titanic and the absolute top end of luxury it represented at the time, was
for many an unobtainable dream. Very few, were able to live that dream - and
sadly most that could, died living that dream, when the Titanic sank on it's
maiden voyage.

One of the few survivors and one of only 7 male passengers to make it out of
the freezing waters was Mr. Henry Blank a 1st Class passenger and listed
as a Jeweler by trade. He was 39 years of age at the time.

In the Spring of 1912, Henry Blank travelled alone to Europe to conduct the
customary dealings with watch movement manufacturers in Switzerland (he was
the sole importer/distributor of IWC watches and movements into the USA) and
stone dealers in Paris, Belgium and Amsterdam. This particular journey was
devoted more toward business and Henry was bringing back very few pleasure
items home with him.

On his return home, Henry made reservations in Paris to embark on the maiden
voyage of the Titanic. A man known for his taste in anything new and the
latest in design, it would have been unnatural for him to turn down the
opportunity of sailing on the world's largest and most luxurious ocean liner.

Henry boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg as a first class passenger (ticket
number 112277, £31, Cabin A-31).

This post assumes the reader has read part Part #
1 and [Part

2](www.iwc.com/forum/en/discussion/65231/?page=1)

After I had discovered the initial 2 Cal. 77 movements (one in the Gold
elaborately adorned Cresarrow pocket watch case, and the other a bare movement
which had lost it's pendant case I contacted IWC in Schaffhausen, where Dr.
Seyffer curator of the IWC Museum confirmed that indeed they were "twins" with
both movements having been sold to Mr. Henry Blank - I was pleased to have
both these movements reunited together again but as I wrote, simply felt that
the 2nd movement needed to be cased.

And so it was, that my journey began. My own dream to re-unite the "twins"
in full glory!

And so it was that I set about to have a manufacturing jeweler recreate a case
on the lines of the original pendant watch. Now, this forum would not be the
the watch forum on the internet if it was not for it's members - and Watch 77
came to the rescue. After a face to face meeting in Switzerland, Ralph agreed
to loan us his Cressarow pendant watch, so that my case maker / jeweler could
manufacture a replica. It needed to be a replica, as unfortunately the
Cressarrow manufacturing facility no longer exists.

The pendant cased Cal.77 was stripped and the work began.

Measuring Up: An renowned Dutch expert on measurements was called in....
and was willing to assist.

This is complicated stuff....

Note the actual "height" of the main case. The Cal. 77 was manufactured by IWC
to be only an unbelievable 4.3mm in height!

The quality and the detail of Cressarow work is amazing.

Note the jeweled Sapphire Crown.

And the extreme amount of actual case workings - lips, ridges and grooves !

A rough sketch is made

And after 101 checks and rechecks (that happens in the lab - on a 100% flat
hard marble measurement table with full digital and laser measurement
equipment being used) - and only then is a professional Cad/Cam drawing
produced.

Just how complicated is this case? Does it really have all those measurements?

Off to manufacturing. But then the setup checks began (they have to program
this all into a computerized milling machine.

Unbelievable, but did we miss this measurement on the drawing (here in red)?.

My case-maker in the UK (who is also a jeweler by trade) is perplexed by my
instructions. Yes, I know the original has a solid gold case back.

BUT YES - I REALLY DO WANT A GLASS CASE BACK on this job - I want to be
able to show off that magnificent Cal. 77 at any time!

Here, the new glass case back - temporary fitted with a normal Sternkreuz M338
(that's 33.8mm) miconcave glass - where hopefully with some help from Heiko we
will replace this with a flat AR coated lens to even better show off that
magnificent Cal. 77.

Then at the Collectors meeting in Schaffhausen some months later, I meet up
with Ralph again, where thanks to support from RAVE (the UK Ralph) the
original case is returned to Watch77 in Switzerland where Ralph then asks
politely how the project is going. Ralph listens to all of this story, and
clearly understands my passion - the fire driving the dream " These "twins"
need to be re-united as 2 complete watches !"

And in an extraordinary gesture of IWC passion, watch friendship and some
elaborate wheeling and dealing with pocket watches and monies and trilateral
arrangements (with MF involved too!) more activities around the Twins and the
Pendant watches is conducted.

It's a long journey and one which I was happy to be at the helm of the ship,
driving this project forward. But then, as was the case with the Titanic,
myself and the crew, were surprised along the way too.

However, unlike the Titanic this journey was completed and I am happy to
announce that on last Saturday my watchmaker put the final touches to the
project - assembling (after full service to all movements) the watches,
polishing the cases and helping bring the ship safely home and not just two,
but all the "children" safely reunited.

So without further ado - I'm proud to show here the newest complete members of
the family!

The two pendant watches - side by side

The one fitted with a glass case back

A small GTG with the dizygotic twin

Note the emerald crown as opposed to the sapphire (after all dizygotic twins
are meant to be slightly different!)

A Trio of Beauties

The author wishes to thank all his friends involved on this journey, Watch77,
Alan for help in securing the other twin, Bill for the transfer to the life
boats, Rave for the expert handling around the cargo manifests, MF for
facilitating as well as my friend Peter who painstakingly drew up the
technical drawing of the case, my case-maker Mr. Adam Phillips of the UK, my
watchmaker Mr. Jeroen Blonk of my local IWC AD, Tonny for jumping in at the
last moment to help with bringing the life boats to shore - and of course Dr.
David Seyffer for assistance with the archives.

Finaly of course you all realise that not all dreams can come true - and there
could even be up to 72 good reasons (or was that A or B choices) why some
dreams are maybe not what they seem...but then, thats what is so great about
this hobby! (And at least some of you will be looking forward to the next saga
which will follow in due course.

Last but not least I wish to confirm that no animals and/or watches were hurt
or abused in this entire journey and let it be known, that all IWC movements
are today fully housed in proper cases. No dial, case, part or case back was
destroyed in the making!

This is still the best tale told here on the Forum Mark!

Edit - WOW Mark, that is just an incerdible story of adventure, history, friendship, cooperation, determination and a taste for beauty - resulting is two fantastic timepieces with a spectacular history. Chapau my friend!

PS! The best tale ever told on this forum just got even better:-)

Mark has been kind enough to keep me up to date on his pursuit of history with these watches. I've told him many times that he is essentially a forensic watch pathologist. And this latest chapter just proves that to be true.
If you read all three chapters of this story, surely you recognize these pieces are privileged to have been reunited in history and horological passion.
Bravo Mark!

Well done Mark. IWC is lucky that there are dedicated and tenacious collectors like you. Looking forward to your next project.

What an incredible story! Your passion, forum fraternal cooperation and expert craftsmanship brought two pieces of IWC history back to a pristine state...to be admired by this excellent community. Congratulations, Mark and thanks for sharing this journey.

Wonderful project. Thanks for sharing the details here.

Incredible work, Mark!
The reverse engineering of the case alone was no mean feat, and the history of it all is simply fascinating.
I happen to know where the archives are stored for the Henry Blank Co & someday we shall visit them and rifle through the boxes and see what treasure we can find.
Congratulations on the outcome and thanks for sharing this incredible adventure with us all!

Terry

Wow, what an amazing story! I somehow missed parts one and two so I was in for a good read and I'm still baffled by this entire project. Kudos to all involved and especially to Mark for being so persistent in getting it completed in the end.

Congratulations on bringing so much history back to life and to share it here with us.

Kind regards,

Clemens

Fantastic set of posts! Congratulations, and thanks for the ride.

Regards,

Tony C.

What a great story and a happy ending.

Simply stunning PWs and an incredible story of history and perseverance by our friend Mark. I was surprised to find my name in the dialogue. After all, all I did was stick a small package in my luggage, but I am certainly amazed at the end result.

Like Alan, Mark kept me informed with his progress. Part #3 is a long awaited completion of this phase of Mark's never ending journeys.

What an amazing fairytale and Happy Ending Mark.
The journey has been amazing and your tenacity, resourcefulness and ingenuity is legendary.

Stunning!
Period!
Adrian,
(alwaysiwc)

The Watch Sherlock Holmes!

Fantastic Mark,
Thang

Stunning, wonderful story!

The passion, tenacity and sheer brilliance of a very special collector is astounding. It was a privilege to play a small part in Mark's quest reunite the dizygotic twins. It's a fascinating tale.

Lucky or rather fortunate find.
Skule is right it is the best tale ever.
Mark I am very happy for you buddy.

Absolutely fantastic story Mark, a story that could only have been brought together by you! Thank you so much for sharing - hope to see these beautiful pieces in the flesh some day.

Beautiful watches and a mindblowing journey to achieve this!

WOW....thanks for posting.

Incredible story of determination.
Well done Mark

It sure was a pleasure Clemr

What a fantastic story buried in the archives almost impossible to find. We need a search function!