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1963 IWC Vintage Mens Full Size Automatic Cal. 8531 Isomura - Platinum & Diamond

About the Item

NAMED ONE OF WATCHPRO MAGAZINE’S “HOT 100” - THE TOP 100 INFLUENCERS OF THE U.S. WATCH INDUSTRY. HOW CAN WE SERVE YOU? We’re new to offering our carefully curated collection on 1stDibs, but we have sold over 10,000 fine watches and exceptionally served thousands of customers with a 5.0 star rating. 1963 IWC Vintage Mens Full Size Automatic Cal. 8531 Isomura Watch - Platinum & Diamonds Beautiful Condition - Ingenieur Movement - 1 Year Warranty The superior automatic IWC showcased in today's offering is a rare example made for the Japanese market encased in platinum and powered by the Albert Pellaton designed Caliber 853 movement. Its full size case has previously had a massive and striking diamond bezel added by a jeweler. Its approximately 40 brilliant diamonds weigh approximately 1.5 carats and are white and eye clean. This mechanism's automatic winding system is a technical masterpiece, earning it high praise - Gisbert Brunner and Christian Pfeiffer-Belli in their work, Wristwatches Armbanduhren Montres-bracelets, proclaimed the 853x "one of the best automatic movements ever built in Switzerland." And the famous watchmaker Donald de Carle, in his book Complicated Watches and their Repair, stated that IWC's special automatic winding mechanism was "a simple and ingenious system, well constructed and beautifully finished." IWC built it in 1963 at the same time they were building their famous Ingenieur line. These dress watches were more elegant than the pragmatic Ingenieur but shared the high-performance timekeeping qualities in normal wearing conditions. And compared to an Ingenieur, because they do not have a second inner back, the cases are thinner and lighter on the wrist. While the vast majority of these were made in stainless steel with some also being made in 18K gold and a few gold plated cases, only very few were made in platinum. It is encased in the watch's original large contract case made for IWC for the Japanese market by Isomura and correctly stamped on the inside. It measures slightly over 36mm in diameter, a hair larger than even the size of a Rolex Datejust from the period. With the exception of the diamond bezel, it has all of its original parts down to the hands and winding crown. It presents in beautiful condition. Its very rare platinum case presents as just short of mint with only the slightest bit of wear, light signs of previous polishing and slight signs of the bezel addition around the lugs. Its silver dial is original and untouched - it is just short of mint with very slight aging visible under magnification. A Master Watchmaker has recently overhauled its movement, which is very clean. We have also timed it on a machine that simulates it being worn on the wrist - it is keeping very accurate time on par with a new IWC in our testing. For the finishing touch, we have equipped it with a brand new leather strap and aftermarket IWC style buckle making it ready for immediate enjoyment. Also included is an IWC signed band and buckle only lightly worn of unknown origin that was on the watch when we acquired it. Your watch is important to us, and we will take care of it for its lifetime. We provide the best after sale care in the business with an extremely experienced team of four Master Watchmakers all of whom each have over thirty-five years of experience and a large number of parts. One used to be the watchmaker for an authorized Rolex dealership and was given \ training by Rolex at their Beverly Hills Service Center. He also has done authorized watchmaking work for the Richemont Group's Service Center, IWC Schaffhausen, and many others. Detailed Appraisal: Manufacturer: IWC City of origin: Schaffhausen, Switzerland Serial no.: 1,694,355 Year built: 1963 Functions: Hours, Minutes, Automatic, Sweep Seconds Designed for: Men Dimensions: Approx. 36.5mm wide (without crown), 44.5mm lugs tip-to-tip Case condition: Just short of mint with only the slightest bit of wear, light signs of previous polishing, one super light indention in the back visible at only certain angles, and slight signs of the bezel addition around the the lugs. Case markings (inside): Platinum, Isomura stamp, PM900 Dial: Silver soleil, signed International Watch Co. Schaffhausen and AUTOMATIC, faceted baton indexes, outer minute track, original and untouched, just short of mint with very slight aging visible under magnification Hands: Original, "dauphines" Jewels: 21 rubies Band: 1. Teju lizard, aftermarket, fully stitched, padded, brand new and unworn with aftermarket IWC style steel buckle. 2. IWC signed band and buckle only lightly worn of unknown origin - they were on the watch when we aquired it. We also stock lizard and a variety of other straps in various prints, skins, and colors. Please ask us if you're interested. Crystal type: Acrylic, excellent condition Movement: IWC caliber 8531, self-winding, rhodium plated and decorated, 21 jewels, Breguet hairspring, shock resistant, precision regulator Serviced: A Master Watchmaker has recently overhauled its movement, which is very clean Timed: Timed to precision on a state-of-the-art computerized system. We have also timed it on a machine that simulates it being worn on the wrist - it is keeping very accurate time on par with a new IWC in our testing. Warranty: 1-year international warranty. Please message us for details. Your watch is important to us, and we will take care of it for its lifetime. We provide the best after sale care in the business with an extremely experienced team of four Master Watchmakers all of whom each have over thirty-five years of experience and a large number of parts. One used to be the watchmaker for an authorized Rolex dealership and was given \ training by Rolex at their Beverly Hills Service Center. He also has done authorized watchmaking work for the Richemont Group's Service Center, IWC Schaffhausen, and many others. Box/Papers: BOX - Watch presentation box; PAPERS - Custom printed Certificate of Authenticity; New timing certificate SKU 10658

Creator:
IWC
Case Material:
Platinum
Strap Material:
Leather
Case Shape:
Round
Movement:
Case Dimensions:
Depth: 1.44 in (36.5 mm)Length: 1.76 in (44.5 mm)
Place of Origin:
Switzerland
Period:
1960-1969
Date of Manufacture:
1963
Condition:
Its very rare platinum case presents as just short of mint with only the slightest bit of wear, light signs of previous polishing and slight signs of the bezel addition around the lugs. Its silver dial is original and untouched.
Seller Location:
Suwanee, GA
Reference Number:
Seller: 106581stDibs: LU4333230067352

Shop All IWC

IWC

One of Switzerland’s major luxury watch companies was started by an American who saw the potential of bringing Switzerland’s superb watchmaking into the modern age through industrialized manufacturing and high-precision interchangeable parts. The New Hampshire–born watchmaker Florentine Ariosto Jones (1841–1916), who founded International Watch Company — known today as simply IWC — in 1868, was interested in “combining all the excellence of the American system of mechanism with the more skillful hand labor of the Swiss.”

Setting up the company with another American watchmaker, Charles Kidder, in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, Jones used hydropower from the River Rhine for his plant’s machinery. Rethinking watch design would lead to one of IWC’s early successes: the Pallweber pocket watch. Based on an 1883 patent by Austrian watchmaker Josef Pallweber, the watch employed numbered disks for jumping hour and minute displays, making it a pioneer in digital timekeeping.

After Johann Rauschenbach-Vogel took over the watch manufacturer in 1880, four generations of his family led IWC into the 20th century. In 1905, Ernst Jakob Homberger and his brother-in-law Carl Jung — the famed Swiss psychiatrist — acquired IWC. Homberger bought out Jung’s holdings in 1929, and in the 1930s, the company introduced pilot watches, which were particularly robust and aimed solely at the civil aviation industry. These durable wristwatches were designed specifically to remain operational during extreme temperature shifts. (As blue watch dials are particularly hot right now, IWC's blue-dial Big Pilot is having a moment.)

The company still operates alongside the river where it was founded, having gained an international reputation over the past 150 years for its elegant designs and expert craftsmanship. Vintage IWC watches are prized by collectors — of whom there are many these days — and while the company continues to guard its attention to detail and quality, it has pushed its classic designs forward with modern innovation intended to stand the test of time.

IWC’s 2013 Ingenieur watch collection, with its precision based on an inventive constant-force mechanism, looked back to a 1955 Ingenieur model that featured a durable soft-iron inner cage as well as a 1976 update by leading Swiss watch designer Gérald Genta that encased its mechanism in a sleek steel case. IWC has also had a recent push toward sustainability, designing watches that are made to last a lifetime and beyond and earning the highest environmental ranking of any Swiss watch company in a 2018 report published by the World Wide Fund for Nature Switzerland (WWF).

Find vintage IWC wristwatches, Art Deco–style pocket watches and more on 1stDibs.