Why We Love It

For every sturdy, robust military watch or no-nonsense chronograph that the International Watch Company created, there were scores of elegant dress watches whose simple exteriors belie the intricate workings within.

This charming IWC manual wind dress watch is no exception. It features a 28mm solid 14K Yellow Gold case showing only light wear and oxidation, giving it just the right amount of character. The black gloss sector dial features a gilt printed chapter ring, applied Breguet quadrant markers, and subsidiary seconds at the 6:00 position.

At 30mm, it's a small piece, but packs a lot of punch. It's a truly timeless dress watch that's high on style and the rich history that IWC has to offer.

The Story

During World War II, IWC Schaffhausen was kept busy fulfilling military contracts, including instrumentation for aircraft and wristwatches for ground troops and pilots. However, once peace settled in, the military contracts dried up. IWC, like many other Swiss manufactures, found itself refocusing production to civilian models as tastes shifted away from the spartan military watches that had dominated the war years.

The transition into creating dress watches finished in precious metals and powered by robust movements also gave IWC a longstanding reputation of being a manufacture of truly elegant dress watches. Although overlooked today by the mainstream collector, these post-war years dressers are incredibly stylish and brilliantly engineered - not to mention incredibly rare!