IWC SEALS

Hello Adrian,
it might be confusing but it isn't if you have further look at the markings.
BWB doesn't mean Bundeswehr Bund but rather 'Bundesamt für Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung'. This is the government authority which is responsible for all acquisitions, technical and electonic developments of the Bundeswehr including weapons, armour-bearer and all kind of relevant material. So this watch was acquired by the BWB from IWC for instance as a kind of prototype probably among other brands and not issued to the troops later on. The watch remained in the stock of the BWB and was later sold by the VEBEG, the company which is responsible for the selling after the decomission.

Kind regards

Wow, wow, wow- this is fascinating, and I am really learning so much about the military past of IWC. Thanks to you all for showing us these extraordinary and rare pieces, and explaining the details.

Nelson

What a treasure trove on knowledge from our experts here on the Forum. But I would expect no less for Adrian and company.

Well Hajo,
Your comment on the "confusing Bund " (ref.135) is very interesting. How sure are you, stating that this watch " could have been a prototype"? Konrad Knirim and Juergen King were very conclusive about that this Bund PW had been issued.
I will look up the letter from IWC,in which Juergen King made his statement. Don't get me wrong! If this would have been a prototype or a non issued watch : we should research this to the bottom and bring the facts to the surface.
Please explain to me what the abbreviation VEBEG means. I want to learn !
Grüsse nach Aachen,
Kind regards,
Adrian,
(alwaysiwc).

This has been a most interesting and instructive thread. I am ever amazed at what I did not know I did not know.
Thanks to all who contributed, especially Adrian and Hajo.

... A special adventure about IWC Deck watches should be shared with you. It was posted before , about 3 years ago. In October 2009, Tonny Berteloot and I drove to Cologne, Germany, to visit the watch fair. We met a German dealer once again, a person of whom I had bought several interesting IWC PW's.
All of the sudden, this dealer took 2 boxes from the floor and opened them for us. One was the original box, containing the very rare IWC "Schaufenster Uhr", used by IWC AD's to show how accurate an IWC PW could be.
But.........the other box contained 10 ( TEN), Royal Navy Deck Watches, made by IWC.
After the shock, the question was of course if he would be inclined PLEASE to sell one or more.
The man answered : "This is my pension capital sum. I will sell now not any. I am conviced that this stuff is more worth than any euro in the bank. Come back to me when I am old, poor and lonesome" Quite a statement....and how predictive he was.
Kind regards,
Adrian,
(alwaysiwc).

Hi Adrian,
I believe I see at least 5 cal 71, or the reflex in thje cases may be playing tricks on me. Anyway, how old is your friend now? And at what age does he plan to retire? :)

Hi Antonio,
I wish I was his friend but I am not. This dealer has 40 years of experience selling watches and he recognises the mad glow in the eys of innocent addicted collectors ( like me). The likelehood that this man would sell for a reasonable price is about in the same range that the Portuguese Government calls for Antonio Gomes to develope a new IWC pilot watch for their Air Force.
Kind regards,
Adrian.(=:
(alwaysiwc).

+1 Excellent knowledge share here Gents. One is NEVER TO OLD TO LEARN, and I am learning from you guys every day!

Thanks for this interesting thread.

Agree with you. The level of discourse here is impressive.

Hello Adrian,
well, I am not a native speaker and "kind of prototype" is probably the wrong expression, apologize.
The fact is that one department of the BWB buys products contemplable products for in small numbers for the 'BUND', test them and than decides whether these products will be purchased in quantity or special quantity and than will be delivered to the troops marked with the NSN.
So your watch was in state property (issued-BWB-)but not in use for example in the Navy as a navigational instrument.
I am sure that IWC sold 100 or 150 pieces to the BWB and after testing and after arrving at a decision, most of these items got their NSN, were delivered and some remained in the stock of the BWB. That is not unusual.
...
The VEBEG "Verwertungsgesellschaft Bund" is a limited trust company of the GE state and belongs to the GE Treasury, who is the sole shareholder. The VEBEG is responsible for the liquidation of all the movables of the GE state.

So every Ocean BUND we have collected has first passed the VEBEG and obviously the sources of our common OCD have good back door contacts to the VEBEG. ;-)

Groetjes naar Lommel, kind regards

Aloha Antonio -

Great picture - I really like that 55mm B-Uhr! How about a wrist shot sometime?

• Tracy

This is an amazing thread, thanks to all that have contributed.

Sorry I missed this thread while it was still "HOT", nice collection Tony, and the answers given by some were just magnificent (especially Hajo and Adrian). I won´t add my couple of watches to the gathering, I´ll save them up for a later posting ;-)
Adrian you mentioned this;

This is caused by stress to the mentioned area, caused by a blow. Underneath the dial are the dial feet at exactly that and the opposite position , pegged to the movement, so a blow would cause the enamel to be lifted/torn off the metal dial. You were lucky the enamel never fell off on those positions.

Well done all and thanks for a thoroughly good read.

Best Regards

Jimmy

The sleeve shot.

Outstanding!

+1!

History in the flesh!

Am I spotting a Junkers in the background...? ;-)

Looks great, Antonio! Now ready for celestial navigation. ;)

All I need now is the airplane. Or a sailboat. :)

I prefer the sailing boat, Antonio. The definitely lower speed makes it easier to calculate in my age than the aircraft's speed.;)I'll take one of KM deck watches.:)

Simply amazing and outstanding. This is what I call a real collection - nobody can copy that so easily. Everbody with enough money can get the newest IWC at any store in the world and buy them like a Swatch watch, but this collection beats anything. BIG congratulations!

Thanks for the kind words.
Collecting vintage watches, especially vintage military timepieces, is indeed a completely different experience than collecting new watches, and IMO more rewarding.
Although ownership is rewarding, I value more the “hunt”, and uncovering the history/story behind the watch.
New watches, with few exceptions, provide a short flash of enthusiasm, until the next line, and then people virtually stop talking about them. I wonder which of the recent models will be collected fifty years from now. In contrast we are still talking with enthusiasm about the Mark 11, the W.W.W., the B-Uhr, the Jumbo Ingenieur, the original Portugieser, to name a few.

You have encapsulated the passion of collecting vintage / military vintage watches, Antonio. At least to my mind.