The Mystery of the Vintage Collection Backs

Some collectors have noticed different engravings on the back of the new Vintage Collection watches, either based on what they saw at SIHH or press conferences (either in person or via photos here) or at dealers. Some watches are engraved, for example, as “Ingenieur” and some say “Ingenieur 1955”.

I checked –and here’s the story:

[i]It was decided at the last minute that, for legal reasons, none of the Vintage Collection watches should have a year engraved on the back. However, some watches already did –protoypes for showings and also some very early production. For the early production models with the date, it was decided not to redo the backs –instead the glassback for those also would be engraved with the words “EDITION 2008”. [i]

I guess there are at least two morals to this story:

--blame it on the lawyers ;)

--if you find a model with the year and the words “Edition 2008”, it might end up as a rarity and especially collectible one day

Regards,
Michael

Thank you for sorting things out Michael

Thank you Michael

Sounds like a double struck...

penny to me. Automatically creates a sought after rarity.
But I have trouble coming up with a good legal reason for eliminating the date.

Oh, the good legal reason part is easy . . .

. . . unfortunately.

In this modern day, when lawsuits are commonplace, it is too easy to imagine someone saying, "HEY! I've been defrauded! This is NOT a 1955 Ingenieur! It was actually made in 2008! I've been ripped off! I thought I was buying a valuable vintage Ingenieur but this is just a fake! I want my money back plus CHF1.000.000 for pain and suffering and punitive damages!"

That answers that. Thanks MF.

And, indeed, the pieces at the dealer I saw which had the dates also had the "Edition 2008" engraving on the crystal back.

So...the lawyers helped some of us ;-)

Thanx,
Peter

I thought of that, but I...

was looking for a good legal reason. That is almost as bad as the guy who buys a chainsaw and then sues because there was nothing in the instructions warning against using it to trim nose hairs. lol

Where is the world going to?

I didn't check but I won't be surprised that we will soon find a paragraph in the manual stating that you cannot sue IWC if your watch doesn't run on time and you miss your plane, train or important business meeting.

Will it also state that you should wear something that helps you float when you take your Ingenieur for a swim? You might actually sink because of the weight!

[](sibon.triple-it.nl/images/stories/Ingenieur/Inge_Wrist_20080602.jpg)

Oh, I almost forgot about the addictive effect these watches have on many of us!

Kind regards,

Clemens

Ahhh...I see a future highly collectable version >

in a few years time LOL.

Thanks MF nt.

Exactly OCD...Which is why I say...>

Blame the Courts who let nonsense like this proceed, not the lawyers who are just taking advantage of what the Court will allow.
--
Isobars.

Port

I have seen a new portuguese vintage with the inscriptions.

Funny thing is also that the greymarket is selling the new vintage line already... I can hardly understand why and how!?

why and how...

Hi Martijn,

It's not the purpose of this forum to discuss the watch market, but to quickly answer your question these watches are not inexpensive items. There may be a dealer who will sell to a customer a watch at less than list, and then that customer really buys to resell.

Some dealers might do that to free up a little capital (look at how much they've paid for all those new watches) or as a favor to a good or regular customer. Either way the dealer still makes a return on his investment, just a little less.

For the reseller, the "margins" may be small, but even say $500 on a watch can be enough for some resellers; certainly if they can turn that in a week that's a large percentage return annualized.

That said, I would ask that we not continue this string on-line. If anyone has further comments on this phenomenon feel free to e-mail them. I would urge everyone to buy from authorized dealers for numerous reasons.

Regards,
Michael

Keeping my eyes peeled for the rare ones

thanks for informing us.

Andrew