• Apprentice
    26 Aug 2026, 5:40 p.m.

    Hi all, I was searching to see if I could find a rubber strap for a Portofino Chronograph in 2025. But my search engine started showing me straps and watches with rubber straps listed in the description. One morning I saw an Aquatimer that was available on an auction site 'As Is, Does NOT Work'. Owning a few IWCs, I immediately thought that if I could get the watch for a fair price, IWC could build it back up from a spring. Long story short, I won the auction. The watch arrived and I spend half a day trying to get the auto wind to start the movement, it finally did! I immediately sent it to IWC for rebuild. When I returned to pick it up, the jeweler came out and asked where I got the watch. I explained and he said, you 'did notice it is SN 002'? I asked if this raises the value of the watch and he confirmed it certainly does, but couldn't guess what the impact to price would be. Does anyone have a suggestion as to what the impact of this low SN would be? I was told that SN 000 stays within IWC and 001 goes to the namesake [Coustaeu, or whoever they are partnering with on a design] and 002 is the first SN available for purchase. I was asked to provide a number for insurance purposes. Any help here is very much appreciated.

  • Apprentice
    26 Aug 2026, 5:40 p.m.