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IWC Replica

Replica IWC’s classic movement – the Calibre89

A lot happened at IWC in 1944. An American squadron bombed them on April 1 during an air raid on Schaffhausen, there was the appearance of IWC’s first W.W.W. (Watch. Wrist. Waterproof) replica watches for the British Army, and also the arrival of Albert Pellaton from Vacheron Constantin as Technical Director.

Somehow, amidst this and the ruins of post war Europe, Pellaton worked on his first design, the manual winding calibre 89 movement, which was launched two years later. Simple, robust and reliable, it proved to be representative of the times and a success because of its no-nonsense durability.

The genesis of the Calibre 89 was IWC’s calibre 83, introduced in 1939 and generally understood to be a transitional calibre between pocket replica watches and wrist replica watches. It proved to be one of the brand’s stalwarts, used  through to the early 1990s. It found its way into replica watches such as the Mark XI (1947) and the Yacht Club, but today’s examples of this calibre are very much civilian. The Cal.89 found its way into a huge variety of cases and designs.

At 35mm and 36mm respectively, these replica watches may seem small to those used to contemporary sizes that are closer to the 40mm mark, but their designs are very classical and arguably s a perfect dress replica watch size on the wrist. My personal preference is for the 1960s rose gold version, which is just stunning, especially those lugs.  I was told by a replica watchmaker that in Portugal, it’s referred to  as a ‘biscuit case’. The stainless steel one is from a decade later and, because of the metal, perhaps more in the workmanlike spirit of the first post war Calibre 89s.

One of the reasons that the owner of these replica watches so values this calibre is that its centre second movement was designed from ground up rather than adding an extra wheel to convert from a small seconds to centre second, which is not uncommon for cost efficiency reasons.

If you are interested in getting an example of this important IWC calibre, it’s worthwhile taking the time to look around and do some research. The sheer breadth of the styles means that it’s worth the wait to get exactly the right one for you.