IWC is a household name in the watch business, and if you aren’t familiar with it now, you will be soon. IWC’s Portugieser is the model that won the award for “Most Popular Dress Watch.” IWC watches are a combination of traditional Swiss craftsmanship and forward-thinking American business. Even if you know nothing about watches, you can’t help but notice how common IWC watches are.
In 1868, Florentine Aristo Jones, a watchmaker from Boston, founded the International Watch Company in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Aristo Jones needed to hire skilled craftsmen so that it could introduce American manufacturing techniques to the region. Schaffhausen’s proximity to the Rhine River also benefited Jones’ innovations by supplying the electricity he needed to run his machines. When IWC was founded, watch production was still mostly done in individual homes. Aristo Jones broke with convention by opening a watch factory to make luxury timepieces with genuine leather straps for the American market. After his goals were met and IWC’s watchmaking talents were solidified, the firm became known as “one of the most successful watch enterprises in the world.”
The IWC men’s watch brand gained prominence in the 1930s due to its accurate pilot watches; the brand also supplied a wristwatch to the British military in WWII. The firm is also credited with the development of the first wristwatch compass, improved mechanical movements, and waterproofing technologies that could withstand greater depths. Their dominance of the luxury watch market was cemented by these achievements.
Around the turn of the twentieth century, the International Watch Company “had more watches than its contemporaries.” Among its commodities are the likes of the IWC Portugieser (sometimes written “Portuguese”), a sleek luxury watch, and the more traditional pilot’s timepieces for which they are known. For many years, IWC watches have been the go-to for collectors due to the brand’s rich heritage and impeccable craftsmanship. They are now easily counterfeited, sadly. How can one therefore tell whether something is the real deal? A genuine IWC watch may be identified by a number of details, from the dial to the screws.
Buying Advice for Your First IWC Watch
The Dial
If you’re assessing a fake IWC Pilot’s watch or any other model, start with the main point. A potential buyer’s eye should naturally be drawn to the watch’s dial at first glance. In several forgeries, the numbers and characters have the incorrect colour or are written in the wrong typeface. The Swiss company that makes the watches exclusively uses precious metals for the casing. Colors will be uniform, and the laser etching on the watch will be exact.
You can probably tell a lot about a man’s IWC watch just by looking at the subdials. Subdials and hands on IWC watches are expected to have surfaces that are color-matched to the dial and display pin-point accuracy. Subdials on the side of a fake watch are a common sight as we go through them. In imitation timepieces, it is not uncommon to find unsymmetrical placement of the subdials. Genuine IWC wrist watches will have equally spaced subdials.
The Materials Needed
Since IWC is a luxury watch brand, the craftsmanship of the individual parts is a strong indication that the watch is genuine. Original IWC watches are distinguished by their use of only the finest materials and meticulous craftsmanship. Today’s high-end watches typically include sapphire crystal dials because of the material’s resilience to scratches. To test the crystal’s clarity, just place a drop of water on its surface. It’s expected that water would keep its surface tension when placed on a sapphire crystal. A glass or plastic imitation crystal will leak water when filled with water.
The way a fake IWC watch fits and feels on your wrist is another giveaway. You can tell an authentic IWC watch by its bracelet or strap. In order to provide a comfortable and secure fit, IWC uses stainless steel versions that have adjustable links. Mass-produced, low-priced imitations with non-adjustable wristbands are more popular than you’d think.
Metals used in watches are best determined by professionals. If you’re planning on purchasing an IWC watch online, Kapoor Watch Co. advises having a professional watchmaker verify the authenticity of any gold or platinum components. Many counterfeit IWC Aquatimer Chronograph pieces have a base metal case with a gold or rhodium coating.
Functionality
The most obvious way to verify that your IWC men’s watch is genuine is to make sure it works. There should never be any resistance while pressing the chronograph’s buttons, and the time shown should be reliable. Many fakes have just decorative pushers and subdials and use cheap, simplistic movements.
The crown should be your first focus when evaluating the overall condition of your IWC watch. Larger crowns will be used on counterfeits since they are simpler and less expensive to produce in high volumes. One of the few exceptions is the IWC Pilot’s Perpetual Calendar, which can be identified by its nearly obscenely enormous crown, which conceals a three-position mechanism for quickly and conveniently adjusting the watch’s subdials.
There shouldn’t be any effort required to wind an automatic or manual IWC men’s watch. To wind the crown shouldn’t be too challenging. The winding mechanism must be checked for accuracy by paying close attention to its sounds. To warn those within, the gears inside are making a cracking noise.
Typical Features
In order to determine the authenticity of an IWC watch, check the hallmarks, serial number, and purity markings. Each watch produced by International Watch Company (IWC) should have the brand’s name and the name of the collection engraved on the case back. They should have a professional look and feel since they are laser etched onto the casing. Numerous IWC watches have transparent case backs, allowing you to see the intricate mechanisms within. The rear of a display case often has the maker’s name engraved onto the mechanism.
Some metal watches will be marked so that their origins may be easily determined. When shopping for an IWC Aquatimer Chronograph watch online, it’s important to ensure that it has proper purity stamps and Swiss production characteristics.
