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The IWC Calibre 89 - Simple, Robust & Time Only
The IWC Calibre 89 has been written up by many watch collectors and watchmakers as the pinnacle of movement design and durability. Introduced in 1946, IWC's Calibre 89 quietly made its debut. This movement represented a change of its own as IWC struggled to renew itself against a backdrop of a world changed forever by a world war and the Atomic bomb.
These were the years just prior to meaningful inroads into automatic winding, and just after advances in metallurgy and shock protection. These were the in-between years when men were finally taking their watches out of their pockets and placing them forever on their wrists.
Given the conditions of the time, the development and production of the Calibre 89 is distinctly remarkable and very significant. It does not posses a level of finish that remotely rivals the black polish of modern day haute-horology, but the Cal 89 has been accorded the title of "working man's movement" [John Davis, 2001] - that it was simply a extremely well made hand winding movement. The superiority and tour-de-force in this case was the craft that had matured under often-difficult circumstances.
In the early 1940's the British Ministry of Defense put out a specification set for military watches that it wanted to supply its troops. The watches that met these specification were engraved with the letter WWW meaning: "Watches Wristlet Waterproof" and called the "Mark X" watches.
IWC Mark XI
IWC was also one of the manufacturers that built a watch based on the British Ministry of Defense specifications, which was released in 1944 as the IWC Mark X Pilots Watch. In 1948, the IWC updated its Mark X watch as the Mark XI. The Mark XI was one of the most popular IWC watches of all time being manufactured from 1948 to 1984. The Calibre 89 was also selected for military use in the Mark XI as it possessed an essential central seconds.
Calibre 89 housed in a IWC Mark XI (Caseback Removed)
The Calibre 89 would take its rightful place among the notable Swiss movements introduced during those years. Today, the Calibre 89 remains a distinguished and relatively plentiful movement, surviving any number of circumstances that relegated much of its peer group to the footnotes of horological history. Many of these continue to keep accurate time nearly 50 years later.
The secret history of IWC's hand-wound watches represents a lost noble heritage with few peers in the industry. Their timeless wristwatch designs reduced the form of the watch to its simplest and clearest terms, and for many collectors are more expressive of IWC's identity.
I am pleased to share with you some pictures of a 1964 IWC Ref. 604, Yellow Gold Gentleman's wristwatch. This timepiece returned home fresh from the super service done at the IWC factory (Dr. Bernard Cheong was right! If Jesus wore a watch, it would be an IWC given the astounding inventory of the IWC spares department) - Article link HERE
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