1911 18ct gold round vintage IWC (International Watch Company) ‘Officers’ watch
Date: 1911
Case: 18ct gold, 32mm
Movement: IWC Calibre 64
Dial: White enamel with Roman numerals
Lugs: 14mm
A stunning early example of a ‘Trench’ or ‘Officers’ watch from IWC, in fabulous condition!
A 1911, 18ct gold round vintage IWC (International Watch Company) ‘Officers’ watch. The case measures 32mm in diameter with 14mm lugs. The case is signed CN (Charles Nicolet, director of Stauffer & Co. London) hallmarked London 1911 and numbered and has a protective dust cover to the movement. The manual wind, calibre 64, movement is signed S&Co. (Stauffer & Co.), Peerless, Swiss, numbered, with ‘pin-set’ hands. The white enamel dial has black Roman numerals, with subsidiary seconds and fine blued steel ‘Poire Paris’ hands. The dial is signed IWC, Schaffhausen above the centre.
IWC Calibre 64
Founded in 1868 by Florentine Ariosto Jones, a watchmaker from Boston, USA, International Watch Company have produced some of the finest timepieces to date.
The calibre 64 movement and less often calibre 63, were used in all IWC wristwatches until 1915; IWC made no other movements of a suitable size for a wristwatch until the introduction of calibre 75 and 76 in 1915. These were a smaller size more suitable for ladies’ wristwatches or the smaller size of gentlemen’s wristwatches that became fashionable in the 1930s. The calibre 64 is a savonnette calibre suitable for use in hunter cased pocket watches, and wristwatches where the dial can be set so that the crown is at 3 and with subsidiary seconds dial at 6. Generally, early IWC wristwatches have calibre 64 movements, although occasionally wristwatches are seen with calibre 63 movements and no seconds indication on the dial. Wristwatches containing calibre 63 or 64 movements are usually about 33mm diameter, excluding lugs and crown.
