The First IWC Collectors Meeting in Schaffhausen - Part 4                                         1  2  3  4

At the end of the tour we visited the halls where many of the watch movement parts are made.

 

IWC do a lot of their work with spark erosion machines. Though it takes longer to make an individual part, the technology is very flexible and production can be started very quickly as no tooling up is required. The computers of the movement design department are linked with the machines here so any required modifications to a part being produced can be made on the fly. 

The process starts with a plan of the part

The measurements are transferred to the spark-erosion machine

This cuts the part very slowly, cooling is provided by water or oil

Finally the finished piece

On our way back we passed through the prototype department (Kurt Klaus' grand-daughter works as a prototypist there) but I'm sorry that I'm not allowed tell you what we saw there, hehehe ... Oh alright, just one thing ... the long awaited successor to the IWC Mark XV !

Back at the guild hall, we were each presented with another mysterious box wrapped in black paper and an IWC ribbon ... It contained an IWC signed watch box clad in white leather which provides space for 12 watches. A very generous and useful gift to all us watch lovers, I sure hope mine will be filled up to the last space one day.

The incredibly interesting day was concluded by a dinner at restaurant with a breathtaking view of the Rhine Falls. Again we spent a great evening eating, drinking wine and talking and touching watches.

MF and Alexander Linz, the German IWC Forum moderator, organized a fun contest in which each table was asked to bring out their most beautiful and unusual watches which were then to be voted on by all present. Well I was pretty sure that our table would win, the guys with me collectively owned 11 ceramic Fliegers and those were by far not the most unusual IWCs they had with them. We submitted two Japanese-market only models, a Doppelchronograph with a white dial and blue sub-dials and the actual winner, a Portugieser Rattrapante with display back and blue and red sweep second hands ! Our prize was a magnum bottle of champagne which we later enjoyed sitting on the banks of the Rhine at about 1 o'clock in the morning.

Some of the contestants tried to influence the judging of the contest by presenting their watches in a most unfair way. Needless to say, this is the watch that got my vote

image courtesy of MF

On Saturday morning we all met up for a sight-seeing tour of the Rhine Falls and historic Schaffhausen. At noon we all climbed up to the Munot fortress which overlooks the town for a last farewell drink and to say our good-byes. The long white building in the middle with the red roof is the main IWC location.

Many new friendships were made, many fabulous watches passed our hands and many new impressions were burnt into our minds during these three days. I would again like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to the entire IWC staff for their incredible generosity and the support they all provided during this most outstanding event. 

 Hans Zbinden

 

 Parts 1  2  3  4