Around the year 2000, IWC cultivated the image of being the watch for men, as the legendary and infamous print campaigns of the time made unmistakably clear. A quarter of a century later, this position is no longer favorable and has been left far behind. Many women are fans of IWC watches – so much so that the brand has even created customized billboards for “Swifties” on the occasion of Taylor Swift’s world tour in Zurich. While the brand’s image and self-image have changed significantly over the years, it retains the same design codes, iconic models, and technical innovations that have contributed to its success over the years. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the technical innovations and IWC-typical complications that the brand has produced throughout its history.
The Pellaton Elevator
It is impossible to talk about IWC without mentioning Albert Pellaton. After training and working as a designer at the prestigious Vacheron Constantin, he joined IWC, where he served as technical director from 1944 to 1966. Numerous calibers and watch models were created under his aegis, but it was his patented design of a double-sided automatic winding mechanism that established his reputation as a brilliant watchmaking inventor. The mechanism known today as the Pellaton winding mechanism is still used in the 52000 caliber family at IWC. Although the presence of an automatic winding mechanism is not usually considered a complication, it would be a shame to deny the Pellaton its due glory because of this formality. However, the double-sided winding function itself was not new, as Felsa had already used one in the Bidynator eight years earlier. Felsa relied on what is still today the most common design with two change gears, as used in the large series ETA 2824-2 movements and the Sellita SW-200 derived from it. With his winding mechanism, Pellaton came up with a completely different solution, somewhere between over-engineering and genius.
Together with the automatic rotor, a heart-shaped disk rotates, which causes a large rocker to rotate around a bearing, depending on the angular position of the heart-shaped disk and thus the rotor. Two ruby rollers surrounding the heart disk provide low friction but secure rocker guidance.
In addition, two ratchets are spring-mounted on the rocker against a ratchet-toothed winding wheel. The movement of the rotor, and thus of the heart-shaped disk, moves the rocker, which guides the ratchets along the winding wheel. Due to the offset of the ratchets by about 90°, one of the ratchets will always slide freely over the teeth, while the other ratchet engages in the wheel and turns it clockwise.
The modern interpretation of the Pellaton winding system in the 52000 caliber family is similar to the original concept, except for the choice of materials, as the ratchets and the winding wheel are now made of wear-resistant zirconium oxide ceramic.
I mentioned earlier that the Pellaton winding mechanism can be said to have a certain degree of over-engineering. I say this particularly because there is a drastically simplified automatic winding mechanism that functions in a similar way. This is Seiko’s “Magic Lever,” invented in 1959, which implements a much simpler technical concept. It remains to be seen which design is superior – that would require an precise assessment of efficiency, dead angle when the direction of rotation changes, and wear resistance. It is interesting to note, however, that Richemont’s movement manufacturer Valfleurier, which also works for IWC, relies in part on a Seiko-style design. At IWC, that kind of simplified ratchet winding system can be found in the 69000 caliber family.
But instead of getting lost in details and speculation, we should enjoy the fact that IWC continues to maintain and improve this unique mechanism. After all, we’re looking for fascination in watches, not uniform boredom.
The Perpetual Calendar by Kurt Klaus
Kurt Klaus, who joined the company in 1957, followed in Albert Pellaton’s footsteps. Klaus is probably familiar even to those who are only casually interested in IWC watches, as in 2019, at the age of 85, he appeared in front of the cameras for a creative and highly acclaimed IWC ad campaign. The campaign focused on the contrast between a modern smartwatch and a mechanical, but no less “smart” construction by Klaus: his perpetual calendar. Launched in 1985 and bearing the design hallmarks of that decade, the IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar was significant not only for its technological aspirations. Rather, it was one of the statement watches that helped define the mechanical watch renaissance of the 1980s. Unlike today, it was anything but commonplace to introduce a complex new mechanical design. But the bet paid off, and the Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar became a sales success and a flagship for the brand.
But what was so technically special about this watch? Afterall, perpetual calendars on wristwatches had been around for more than three decades. The answer is that Klaus’s design makes the watch much easier to use in ways that you wouldn’t know from looking at it, but that the wearer will certainly appreciate. In fact, it was and still is common for perpetual calendars to require elaborate adjustment if they’re not permanently wound. This is often done with the help of correction buttons – and in some cases you may even have to take the watch to a watchmaker. And let’s face it: What’s the point of a perpetual calendar that theoretically doesn’t need to be adjusted for a hundred or even several hundred years, but requires costly intervention when it stops working? Kurt Klaus designed the calendar module with 81 components, which displays the date, day, month, year, and moon phase and can be corrected by simply turning the crown. Although only forward switching is possible, this covers the typical case of a stopped clock. If you accidentally set the date too far forward, you can stop the watch and wait until that day arrives. To this day, IWC uses perpetual calendars based on Kurt Klaus’s principle in numerous models, often with additional complications. In 1990, this was impressively demonstrated with the IWC Ref. 3770 Grande Complication, which combined a minute repeater, a chronograph, and a calendar module in one watch.
IWC Watches: Grand Complications and Other Striking Timepieces
Since the ref. 3770, IWC has repeatedly presented particularly complicated timepieces. In 1994, the Il Destriero Scafusia was added to the Grande Complication with a split-seconds hand and a flying tourbillon. One model caused quite a stir in the more recent past – namely the Sidérale Scafusia from 2011, a grand complication with some remarkable and rare functions. It features a constant-force tourbillon that automatically decouples after a certain period of time due to the decreasing power reserve in the barrel and allows the watch to continue ticking at the actual balance frequency of 2.5 hertz.
Not to mention the numerous astronomical displays on the front and back and the sidereal time display. Jean-François Mojon, head of development at the time, played a key role in this design and went on to found his own watchmaking company, Chronode, which is now a household name in haute horlogerie.
In 2024, the Portugieser Eternal Calendar was launched, a hitherto completely unknown complication that combines a secular perpetual calendar with an incredibly precise moon phase. A secular perpetual calendar is mechanically designed in such a sophisticated way that it also takes into account special correction years in which a leap year is omitted. The moon phase surpasses this with accuracy lasting 45 million years, which is a result of the exact calculation of the reduction gear that drives the lunar disks.
One thing stands out clearly in the history of IWC: Many of the later greats of movement development learned their craft here and worked for the company. It is impossible to predict whether this trend will continue for IWC, but as long as the company continues to serve the segment of highly complex watches in addition to the simple three-hand models with Valfleurier movements, the conditions should be right.
