In a small town in central England, over 500 specialists spend their time developing and building silver arrows for the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team. Almost every one of the 3,200 parts in each car is custom-made.
When the Ingenieur from Schaffhausen was launched in 1955 it created a storm. But its actual history goes back much further: to 1888.
All mechanical watches can be fascinating because of their intricate movements. Even simple watches, ones that only tell time, are extraordinarily complex mechanisms that have hundreds of miniscule parts that work harmoniously together. A complicated watch, one that performs additional functions, is by definition even more complicated.
A doctor with a degree in atomic and molecular physics plays a surprising and important role at IWC.
A fabulous combination of sportiness and elegance, the Spitfire Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month is the high-flyer of the IWC Pilot's Watch collection. The date and month could not be easier to read and the mechanics inside the case are an endless source of fascination.
Spelled using the international radio alphabet, the word "ceramic" looks and sounds rather impressive
The ever-increasing demand for luxury watches translates into a growing demand for qualified craftsmen and women to service these products.
Photos — Christian Coigny and Hans-Ruedi Rohrer Date — 1 April, 2010
—The IWC manufactured 51011 calibre integrates the finest features ever to grace an automatic movement
It’s no accident that this calibre has a gold medal
—Kurt Klaus, the legendary watchmaker who further improved this movement
Also rightly called the big IWC calibre. Manufactured in-house at the factory in Schaffhausen, it resulted from the first movement in the 5000-calibre family for a limited series of Portuguese watches in 2000. It also marked the revival of the Pellaton pawl-winding system at IWC. The version of the 51011 illustrated here, featuring circular graining, nickel plating and Geneva stripes decoration, is the driving force behind the Portuguese Automatic with small seconds, date and power reserve display.
In a small town in central England, over 500 specialists spend their time developing and building silver arrows for the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team. Almost every one of the 3,200 parts in each car is custom-made.
When the Ingenieur from Schaffhausen was launched in 1955 it created a storm. But its actual history goes back much further: to 1888.
All mechanical watches can be fascinating because of their intricate movements. Even simple watches, ones that only tell time, are extraordinarily complex mechanisms that have hundreds of miniscule parts that work harmoniously together. A complicated watch, one that performs additional functions, is by definition even more complicated.
A doctor with a degree in atomic and molecular physics plays a surprising and important role at IWC.
A fabulous combination of sportiness and elegance, the Spitfire Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month is the high-flyer of the IWC Pilot's Watch collection. The date and month could not be easier to read and the mechanics inside the case are an endless source of fascination.
Spelled using the international radio alphabet, the word "ceramic" looks and sounds rather impressive
The ever-increasing demand for luxury watches translates into a growing demand for qualified craftsmen and women to service these products.
