One of the classic International Watch Company’s (IWC) dress watches, fitted in a solid gold case.
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
From the serial number on the movement we can accurately date that to being made in 1952. But the hallmarks in the case are for Birmingham assay office for 1956, and the movement and case could not have been put together until 1956. However the more prominent date is that of 1957, where this watch was presented for thirty one years service by Kirk & Kirk Ltd to Mr. A. E. White.
CONDITION
The 9k gold case is by Dennison, and what this tells us is that the movement was shipped to the UK and cased here. This avoided the punitive import duty in place at the time on completed gold watches, so many manufacturers teamed up with British case makers like Dennison and DS&S to import watch movements and dials, have them cased here, and therefore the extra tax wasn’t applicable. You will see far more expensive watches that look similar, but they probably have the 18k gold case that was more widely used in Europe. The movement is the IWC calibre 88, which alongside the calibre 89 that has centre seconds, was the mainstay of the IWC range during this period and both are widely collected now. This high quality movement has a Breguet hairspring and a balance adjusted via screws on the balance itself, rather than anything as crude as a lever. It is very nicely finished and that includes the dial side. The dial itself was in poor condition and we commissioned a dial restoration, which has been done to a very good standard. And original perfect dial would be preferable, but when not possible this is the next best solution. The leather strap with gold tone buckle is new, and could be swapped for a different colour if preferred.
This watch will be supplied with our branded presentation box and our Certificate of Authenticity.
Please see the HD video for more detail. All photos and videos are part of the description and are of the actual watch unless mentioned. We do not photoshop any pictures, and the images are copyright of birthyearwatches.com and should not be used without permission.
SIZE
Width with crown 35.3 mm
Width without crown 33.2 mm
Between lugs 18 mm
Lug to lug length 39.9 mm
Case Thickness 9.4 mm
All sizes are approximate.
Included with this watch is a 3 month guarantee and free delivery to UK addresses. If you live outside the UK we can still deliver to most countries. Please see our Worldwide Shipping information, or Contact Us. Payment can be made by most credit or debit cards, bank transfer or PayPal.
From 1st September 2021 we will be planting a tree for every watch we sell, working with the International Tree Foundation (Est 1922) to make this business positive on carbon. By buying anything pre owned you are effectively reusing what already exists, but this takes it further and makes us feel good.
