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IWC Steel Calatrava - Cal. 89

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  • Time-Only
  • Watch Only
  • Wire Price $1,045
 
Year: 1950s
Model: Caliber 89
Case Diameter: 35mm 
Lug to Lug: 41mm
Case: Stainless Steel
Dial: Silver
Movement: Manual 
Condition
This dial is still nice and crisp with very little signs of aging. The case looks sharp with light wear throughout only one mark on the bezel by 8 o’clock that is noticeable. The movement is clean and was just serviced. This is one of the cleanest IWC Caliber 89 examples we have seen.
IWC's Caliber 89 is a movement that stands out for its simplicity, robustness, and reliability. It was produced from 1946 to 1979 and was the first W.W.W. watch for the British military. The Mark X watches were characterized by their central hour and minute hands, subsidiary seconds at 6 o'clock, and broad arrow insignia under the 12 o'clock marker on the dial. In 1944, Albert Pellaton took up his post as technical director of IWC, and in 1946, Caliber 89 was introduced.

The movement measured 27.1 mm and featured a center-seconds hand, 17 jewels, overcoil balance spring, and hacking seconds. It beat at a frequency of 2.5 Hz/18,000 vph. The bridges and cocks used on Caliber 89 are of high quality, finished with a wide Geneva stripe and incorporating a substantially beveled edge. They feature hefty steady pins to secure the bridges into the plate and are thick, increasing robustness. Caliber 89 also features Incabloc shock protection for the balance in all but the earliest models, ensuring the balance pivots remain intact.

The click spring, a straight steel spring bar interacting with the ratchet wheel, ensures the job gets done. The screws of Caliber 89 are heavy and no nonsense, with solid heads and oversized threads for maximum reliability. The central second hand, which used a flat spring with a flat polished tip, holds the pinion in place and prevents hand fluttering around the dial.

Caliber 89 took things a step further by changing the design of the spring to act against the side of the pinion, providing an added level of safety in case of accidental damage. This feature also helps with long-term maintenance as these springs tend to get damaged easily when used as the only means of securing the pinion in place.

In 1868, American engineer and watchmaker Florentine Ariosto Jones founded the International Watch Company (IWC) in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, to escape the cost of labor in his home country and use more affordable labor in Switzerland. The company's roots can be traced back to the establishment of a hydraulic power station powered by the river Rhine, which provided cheap energy for the production of high-quality movements and watch parts for the American market.

Jones initially sought a location in the French-speaking parts of Switzerland but was unable to find one that perfectly suited his needs. He met Johann Heinrich Moser, a pioneer in the industry, who had just established a hydraulic power station powered by the river Rhine. Jones saw the opportunity and established IWC's base near the power station.

Jones made a name for himself and IWC with the introduction of the advanced "Jones caliber" for pocket watches. However, high import duties led to the company going bankrupt, leading to the acquisition of the Schaffhausener Handelsbank in 1874. In 1880, Johannes Rauschenbach purchased the company and successfully steered it into calmer waters. The philosophy "Probus Scafusia" was introduced, representing the confirmed excellence of the company's Schaffhausen product.

Throughout the IWC brand's history, many generations of Rauschenbachs led the family business. Hans Ernst Homberger, the final member of the Rauschenbach family, was forced to sell IWC to the German company VDO Adolf Schindling AG in 1978 due to the quartz crisis, rising gold prices, and a weak dollar. VDO later merged with the Mannesmann Corporation in 1991, and in 2000, Vodafone purchased Mannesmann and IWC and other watch brands under the Swiss watch conglomerate Richemont. Under the leadership of Richemont, IWC began a dynamic second life







.

 

IWC Steel Calatrava - Cal. 89

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  • Time-Only
  • Watch Only
  • Wire Price $1,045
 
Year: 1950s
Model: Caliber 89
Case Diameter: 35mm 
Lug to Lug: 41mm
Case: Stainless Steel
Dial: Silver
Movement: Manual 
Condition
This dial is still nice and crisp with very little signs of aging. The case looks sharp with light wear throughout only one mark on the bezel by 8 o’clock that is noticeable. The movement is clean and was just serviced. This is one of the cleanest IWC Caliber 89 examples we have seen.
IWC's Caliber 89 is a movement that stands out for its simplicity, robustness, and reliability. It was produced from 1946 to 1979 and was the first W.W.W. watch for the British military. The Mark X watches were characterized by their central hour and minute hands, subsidiary seconds at 6 o'clock, and broad arrow insignia under the 12 o'clock marker on the dial. In 1944, Albert Pellaton took up his post as technical director of IWC, and in 1946, Caliber 89 was introduced.

The movement measured 27.1 mm and featured a center-seconds hand, 17 jewels, overcoil balance spring, and hacking seconds. It beat at a frequency of 2.5 Hz/18,000 vph. The bridges and cocks used on Caliber 89 are of high quality, finished with a wide Geneva stripe and incorporating a substantially beveled edge. They feature hefty steady pins to secure the bridges into the plate and are thick, increasing robustness. Caliber 89 also features Incabloc shock protection for the balance in all but the earliest models, ensuring the balance pivots remain intact.

The click spring, a straight steel spring bar interacting with the ratchet wheel, ensures the job gets done. The screws of Caliber 89 are heavy and no nonsense, with solid heads and oversized threads for maximum reliability. The central second hand, which used a flat spring with a flat polished tip, holds the pinion in place and prevents hand fluttering around the dial.

Caliber 89 took things a step further by changing the design of the spring to act against the side of the pinion, providing an added level of safety in case of accidental damage. This feature also helps with long-term maintenance as these springs tend to get damaged easily when used as the only means of securing the pinion in place.

In 1868, American engineer and watchmaker Florentine Ariosto Jones founded the International Watch Company (IWC) in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, to escape the cost of labor in his home country and use more affordable labor in Switzerland. The company's roots can be traced back to the establishment of a hydraulic power station powered by the river Rhine, which provided cheap energy for the production of high-quality movements and watch parts for the American market.

Jones initially sought a location in the French-speaking parts of Switzerland but was unable to find one that perfectly suited his needs. He met Johann Heinrich Moser, a pioneer in the industry, who had just established a hydraulic power station powered by the river Rhine. Jones saw the opportunity and established IWC's base near the power station.

Jones made a name for himself and IWC with the introduction of the advanced "Jones caliber" for pocket watches. However, high import duties led to the company going bankrupt, leading to the acquisition of the Schaffhausener Handelsbank in 1874. In 1880, Johannes Rauschenbach purchased the company and successfully steered it into calmer waters. The philosophy "Probus Scafusia" was introduced, representing the confirmed excellence of the company's Schaffhausen product.

Throughout the IWC brand's history, many generations of Rauschenbachs led the family business. Hans Ernst Homberger, the final member of the Rauschenbach family, was forced to sell IWC to the German company VDO Adolf Schindling AG in 1978 due to the quartz crisis, rising gold prices, and a weak dollar. VDO later merged with the Mannesmann Corporation in 1991, and in 2000, Vodafone purchased Mannesmann and IWC and other watch brands under the Swiss watch conglomerate Richemont. Under the leadership of Richemont, IWC began a dynamic second life







.