Hello Forum, I'm Richard, and only a very recently converted IWC enthusiast. I mean I've been collecting watches for a while but had not previously been interested in IWC. The reasons for that are not particularly interesting but I suppose one's headlights can't point in all directions at once, and I've been concentrating on a few other brands.
But about a month ago I came across a ref. 3258 Da Vinci in my local antiques market and bought it. It's a modest watch with a 2892-A2 calibre (quite attractively finished though) but it has such a very clean and purposeful look that I fell for it immediately. I do like articulated lugs, and have several other watches with that design.
Of course, that first purchase opened a door, and I began to look under the lid of IWC a bit. I like what I've seen so far, and as someone with a strong dislike of watch brand hype and invented narratives, I am quite charmed by the down-to-earth no-nonsense style I've found on the IWC site and around the company. There are many watch brands I can't imagine describing one of their most significant models as 'our most successful failure'. And not many either that say 'we have no recommended service interval - just wear the watch until its performance starts to deteriorate, then bring it in for a service'. That is refreshing and honest.
So, I've now got a second IWC, and that will probably be it for a while. it's an Ingenieur ref. IW323401, which is a bit funky and off the beaten track for the Ingenieur style as far as my knowledge of the collection extends, but it caught my eye for that reason. The ceramic bezel also appeals because I do enjoy wearing a watch that I can relax with and not have to be nervous about scratching. And it features an IWC calibre with Pellaton winding system, so there's a bit of nerd appeal too.
I'm aware of the some of the superb history of haute horology at IWC, and those pieces are magnificent, but I don't think I'll ever own any of those. Perhaps I'll stretch as far as a Da Vinci Perpetual but I'm not sure anyone needs more than one perpetual, and I have a JLC.
I'm based in Portugal, retired and a winemaker on a semi-hobby basis. Pretty hard work, even as a hobby! My box of watches mainly includes vintage Universal Genève, JLC, Zenith, Breguet, the odd Omega and Vacheron. I don't buy new watches. I'm here to learn and enjoy; and what I find particularly pleasing is the history of models, their evolution and the development of watchmaking companies over the centuries (if they are that old!).