IWC Mark XI advice

Hi all

as a new member of this forum, i would like to ask for your advice on a mark xi, which i recently found. The watch is from 1952, in good condition and was sold for a moderate price. There is no documentation nor an certificate, just the promise of a trustful collector. I am planning to visit him for a second view and i would like to ask, how you would proceed in my situation. below are 2 photos from my iphone (excuse the quality), the numbers are 6b/346 and 2061/52.
Thank you for your help!

Best regards
Nicolas

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Dear Balduin,
For us, IWC collectors, it is often difficult to decide to help out or not an apprentice with one post. My experience is that most "apprentices" are clever dealers, who do not know exactly the history of IWC and just want to find out the current price for a vintage IWC watch. Assuming that you are a collector who wants to know about the IWC Mk 11, my advice is the following :
1. Google IWC, Mk 11 and you will find a bunch of articles and information on this watch.
2. The IWC Mk 11 is currently a watch, when offered for sale , that is not original and unfortunately put together with IWC parts which are not original Mk 11. This devaluates the price of the watch.
3. To have an indication whether your Mk 11 is genuine, we need to see pictures from the dial and hands, the movement, the movement number, the back lid and the inside of the back lid.
Bill Barker gave you the instructions to post images in the previous post.
Currently we have no information.
If you are a serious person, please follow his instructions and we move to the next step.
Kind regards,
Adrian,
(alwaysiwc).

Dear Adrian

thank you for the quick answer. I hope the photos do work now. As you propose, i already investigated as much as i could in the internet, but still i am not an expert and never bought an iwc before. i am not looking for any price suggestions, just for a critic opinion about the authenticity of this mark xi.
Thank you very much.

Best regards
Nicolas (Balduin)

Prima facie, the watch looks good but I would not buy unless there was an extract from the archives. I have a 1952 Mark XI but the back does not look as clean as the picture you posted. However, mine has been authenticated. Without the documentation you are taking a risk.

Hello all, I've popped up again in less than a year! Your MK 11 looks reasonable from the limited views of your 2 pics. To be certain you must open the back to check the movement. Serial no. range. Arrow on bridge. Hacking. Cal:89 etc. I have been offered examples with incorrect mid-cases. I have never needed an archive extract. I expect that would inflate the price. The provenance of the previous ownership is a big factor. Overall it is my favorite watch of all time. Good luck, regards Ian

Hello again,

thank you for your posts so far. I had the chance to take a few more photos to give you a more detailed look on this mark xi. At the IWC store in Zurich i was told, a documentation request (Stammbuchauszug) would be only possible, if the watch was send to Schaffhausen. I read in a forum it would be possible to get a documentation by only presenting the ref. number, but that was many years ago.
Is there any chance, to distinguish a civil cal. from a military cal. besides the arrow? Whats your opinion?

[](s923.photobucket.com/user/nicokakao/media/mark%20xi/IMG_1213_zps83d103df.jpg.html)
[](s923.photobucket.com/user/nicokakao/media/mark%20xi/IMG_1204_zps00bdda92.jpg.html)
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Everything looks quite reasonable.
(All details, I personally us to check the authentity, are OK).

But please do not ask what I check, we donte need to give hints for
"wrong" Mark XI, what has to be "updated".

Very nice piece, in good condition. Some of them are badly polished up -> round edges.

regards

Ralph

Hi Balduin,
A civil cal. 89 will not have a broad arrow on the movement, but beware..
There are military Mk 11's without a broad arrow on the movement and there are even Mk 11's, issued by IWC as "civil" Mk 11's.
These are the only MK 11's which have a case number, stamped on the inner side of the back lid.
Kind regards,
Adrian,
(alwaysiwc).

Hello again,

does anybody know the difference between the hands posted below. You can find a minimal difference in the arrangement of the luminous material on the hands at the centric end. You can also find two different hands on the photo posted by Ian alias springmount in this thread. Are these different spare parts used by IWC or is there an other explanation? Thank you very much.

Best regards,
Nicolas

[](s923.photobucket.com/user/nicokakao/media/markxizeiger4_zpsef94a883.jpg.html)

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Hi Nicolas,
One thing is for sure : IWC does not have the Original 2 dials and hands in stock, which used to be on the Mk 11.
The first IWC Mk 11 watches were equipped with Radium-226 hands and and application of Radium at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock. These watches are now extremely rare. The watch makers in Herstmonceux, who had to service the Mk 11's, were obliged to exchange the dial and hands for a far less dangerous one, loaded with Tritium. Such watch is depicted by you as the "upper" watch. It has the typical minute hand called "cathedral" ,mimicking a slim tower of a church. Also these secondly used Tritium loaded dials and hands are out of stock.

IWC, in need to restore Mk 11's, ordered for their Mk 10 and Mk 11 watches "new" dials. As I have no Mk 10 or Mk 11 with this restoration dial, I cannot exactly state how it should look like. For sure a restoration dial is not loaded with Tritium anymore. The watch industry now uses SuperLuminova , a compound which is not radioactive, but nevertheless glows in the dark.
Please look at www.markeleven.com
On this site an extensive rview is provided about the IWC and JLC Mark 11, including the many dial and hands variations.
Kind regards,
Adrian,
(alwaysiwc).

Thanks Adrian for the detailed answer. The Mark XI posted at the beginning of this thread is mine now and i was interested about this variation. While buying it i knew the hands were new, but wasn´t sure about the origin of these hands. I assume they had been changed in the last few years.

Best,
Nicolas