Art Deco Egyptian Revival Platinum Ruby Diamond IWC 14 Carat Diamond Watch

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Art Deco Egyptian Revival Platinum Ruby Diamond IWC 14 Carat Diamond Watch

About the Item

A Rare & Impressive Art Deco 1920s IWC Platinum French Cut Ruby & Old European Diamond Egyptian Revival Motif Bracelet Watch, Approximately 14 Carats Basic Specifications & Case Dimensions - 14mm wide across x 85mm top to bottom case - 13mm top to bottom x 10mm width Diamond Shaped Dial - Fits up to 155mm Wrist size * can be extended or shortened as needed as a complimentary service - Mechanical winding movement double signed by IWC under dial and reverse side base plate, Case is also French hallmarked - Approximately 101 stones totaling approximately 14 carats with stone sizes ranging from 5mm – 2mm Recently Serviced & Perfect Working Condition with no missing stones - Additional Special Features: Egyptian Revival Style, French Cut Ruby, Emerald Cut Ruby & Old European Diamonds, Diamond Shaped Dial with Enamel Hand Painted “Exploding” Style Dial Font & Steel Blue Hands Design Concept & Catalog Note The Present watch is an extremely rare and beautiful 1920-1930s Art Deco Egyptian Revival motif Platinum, French Cut Ruby & Old European Diamond set bracelet watch by the elite swiss timepiece firm, IWC (international watch company). Designed with approximately 54 Old European Cut Diamonds and 47 French Cut Ruby(s) the present example is designed in one of the most magnificent styles known as Egyptian revival style and boasts nearly 14 carats in total and has a wide range of attractive design features that make it so beautiful. During this timeframe, IWC has been known to produce some of the most beautiful and sought after private commissions of its era as a result of the firm’s use of only the finest quality stones and most intricate design concepts as so few were ever produced since they were primarily a men’s timepiece manufacturer. As many collectors are familiar, IWC is famously known for its production of World War II Men’s Pilot watches which are highly collectible in today’s marketplace and produced in far greater numbers than IWC lady’s watches from this period. As a result it is extremely rare to find gem set commission by the firm as this present example is commissioned and would typically only be produced as a result at the special request of an important client in this timeframe and with the highest level of design in mind and use of materials. Additionally, as IWC was the only swiss manufacturer located to the west side of Switzerland during the war much of their production was stopped, lost or destroyed adding further rarity to the examples that are still present today. The present example is a true trophy piece for the collector who appreciates gemstones and gemstone cuts and the Egyptian revival style design in general as well. Demonstrating remarkable attention to detail, the present example is designed with French Cut Ruby which is arguably one of the most sought after stone cuts a piece of jewelry can have have due to the immense difficulty required to perform this stone cut alongside arguably one of the most sought after and scarce diamond types the Old European Diamond, which are best known for being whiter and brighter than modern diamonds as well as more rare since they were only found in the years 1890-1930. For more information on French Cut & Old European Diamonds, please do not hesitate to ask. Additionally, It is not only clear by the examination of the three different stone cuts incorporated: French Cut Ruby, Baguette/Emerald Cut Ruby & Old European diamond and carefully planned out Egyptian revival design motif that the present timepiece was extremely well thought-out for a very important client but further supported just how much attention to detail went into the concept through the examination of the dial, bracelet and profile of the case as well which are exceptionally planned. The dial concept is designed in the shape of a diamond. In doing so, this concept enables the timepiece to appear more so as a bracelet than a watch at first look which required additional planning and workmanship to cut the case to specific dimensions and then the dial to be specially planned to fit all the numbers within those dimensions so that it can successfully reveal the time without any interference as the present example allows. In order to achieve such precision, a specially made dial had to be hand painted in the dial design known as an "exploding" dial style so each number would fit correctly and legibly. Exploding dials are also extremely rare generally for collectors of wristwatches and is a term used to describe when the numbers are sized larger at certain locations to make it appear as if it is exploding outward towards its user. As one reviews the bracelet concept further, as a means to ensure comfort and additional flexibility by its user for mobility, IWC incorporated a emerald/baguette cut ruby stones instead of French cut ruby in alternating in pattern with brilliant round cut diamonds on a fully articulated strap to alleviates any rigid feeling that the French cuts would have created had they been used. Finally to finish off the concept, the timepiece is not only further enhanced with a ruby cabochon crown to match in true IWC precision, but also one will find hand engraved filigree in period patterns which run along its profile of the case on both sides with period décor engravings of leaf like filigree workmanship so that no element of the timepiece has been left without attention by its creator making this an extremely beautiful commission which combines the best workmanship of the periods with the best available stone cutting technology and stone materials. In Addition, the Egyptian Revival motif if unfamiliar is also one of the most sought after design styles as the present example is design with indicated by the sharp lines that the French cut Ruby create as well as the color of Ruby which is selected that is more of a pinkish red than a dark red and carefully selected as a result to draw a parallel to the types of colors found in Egyptian works of art hence its style name. During the 1920s, leading design firms pulled inspiration from the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb and as this discovery swept society’s attention with “Egyptomania” many of the colors, shapes and designs acted as inspiration and incorporated into jewelry and timepieces alike as this present example demonstrates. Condition The bracelet watch is also in complete perfect working condition and has been recently serviced and tested for accuracy by our in-house technicians. No missing stones to the outer case with all original stones present and well matched. Bold, sharp dial numerals on dial which indicate excellent preservation & very little patina to the metal underside as a result of age indicating authentic age as well as very little use by its original owner given its nearly 100 year age.

Creator:
IWC
Case Material:
Platinum
Stone:
White Diamond,Ruby,Diamond
Stone Cut:
French Cut
Case Dimensions:
Width: 0.56 in (14 mm)Diameter: 6.11 in (155 mm)
Style:
Egyptian Revival
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
1920-1929
Date of Manufacture:
1920-1930
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
New york, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU1212310474552

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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.