IWC Schaffhausen – DA VINCI Perpetual Calendar Chronograph
RENDEZVOUS BETWEEN MOON AND CHRONOGRAPH
DA VINCI PERPETUAL CALENDAR CHRONOGRAPH
The Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Chronograph is the brand’s first watch to combine the hour and minute counters with the moon phase in a single subdial. Achieving this called for a development of the IWC-manufactured 89630 calibre. A silver-plated or gold-plated disc depicts the full moon in all its glory. At the same time, the rounded, dark blue section of the disc – representing the earth’s shadow – rotates to show the waxing or waning moon. With white gold particles sprinkled across the dark blue background, the subdial has the appearance of a star-studded night sky.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO
The
Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Chronograph (Ref.
IW392101/
IW392103) is the first model in
IWC’s history to combine a chronograph from the
89000 calibre family with the perpetual calendar’s moon phase display in a subdial at “12 o’clock”. To achieve this, both the moon and the shadow of the earth are depicted on a single disc and rotate beneath an aperture in the lower part of the subdial.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO
Together with the other three displays, this new function creates a harmonious unit on the dial of the
43-millimetre watch. The
Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Chronograph is available in two versions: 18-caratred gold and stainless steel.
INSPIRED BY KURT KLAUS
“Poor is the pupil who does not surpass his master”,
Leonardo da Vinci supposedly said to the man who taught him his craft. These words were also at the back of the minds of
IWC’s engineers as they set about redeveloping the perpetual calendar created by
IWC master watchmakerand inventor
Kurt Klaus. While creating the
89630 calibre,
IWC’s present-day master watchmakers constantly referred back to the old design blueprints that were their source of inspiration.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO
But there was a significant challenge, as the moon phase in the
IWC-manufactured 52610 calibre normally used for the perpetual calendar is located at “12 o’clock”. If the chronograph’s hour and minute counters were to be placed there, the hands would go straight through the centreof the moon phase disc. The
89360 chronograph calibre, on the other hand, had no room for a moon phase. As a result, the engineers designed the
89630 calibre, combining the dual counters of the chronograph with the moon phase mechanism and displaying them on a single subdial
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO
A MODERN TIMEPIECE WITH A BALANCED DESIGN
With its
43-millimetre case diameter and case height of 15.5 millimetres, the design of the
Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Chronograph is impressive yet carefully balanced. The crown and the two push-buttons are cylindrical and no longer as round as those of the
Da Vinci Perpetual Calendarof 1985. Combined with the large lugs of the moving horns, they create an impression of overall harmony. Despite the many displays, the dial remains clear and uncluttered because the designers chose dark blue as the colour for the chronograph moon phase totalizer at “12 o’clock”. This firmly distinguishes it from the dial and three subdials of the red gold version (Ref.
IW392101) and the stainless-steel model (Ref.
IW392103), which are silver-plated and slate-coloured, respectively.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO
In the red gold model, the case, horns, crown and push-buttons are all made of solid 18-carat red gold. A gold folding clasp holds the dark brown alligator leather strap by
Santoni. In the stainless-steel version with its black alligator leather strap, the slate-coloured counters are equipped with rhodium-plated facets that once again emphasize the circle as an important design element. A glance through the transparent sapphire-glass back cover reveals the sophisticated design of the movement, which has blued screws, a red gold rotor and various types of decorative polishing on the bridges. The
IWC-manufactured 89630 chronograph calibre with an automatic double-pawl winding system features a 68-hour power reserve.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO
ELEGANT SOLUTION FOR THE CHRONOGRAPH DISPLAY
For the chronograph, the designers likewise made no concessions. The hour and minute counters are combined in a totalizer at “12 o’clock”, which enables stopped times to be read off as if they were the time of day. This is a significantly more elegant form of aggregate timing than two separate counters. The blue central chronograph hand shows stopped times to an accuracy of one-eighth of a second.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO
The chronograph has two push-buttons,which are used to start, stop
and reset the hands, as well as for the flyback function. The movement
itself is designed in such a way that the stopwatch can run continuously
without diminishing the
68-hour power reserve.
PRECISE COMPLICATION
The perpetual calendar works with the utmost precision: in
577.5 years, the display will diverge by just one day from the moon’s actual course. The perpetual calendar displays the date, month and day of the week on three subdials of the same colour at “
3”, “
6” and “
9 o’clock”, respectively.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO
A small window in the bottom left-hand section of the dial reveals the
four-digit year display. Mechanically programmed, the calendar takes
into account the different length of the months and even the leap years.
Nevertheless, every
100 years (
2100,
2200,
etc.) a leap day normally due is omitted, which means that a watchmaker
will have to advance the calendar manually on
1 March. In
2300,
another intervention will be necessary when the current century slide
with the figures
20,
21 and
22 will need to be replaced with a new one
for the years
2300 to
2599.
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Technical details
Model:
DA VINCI Perpetual Calendar Chronograph
REF.
Gold
· IW392101
Steel ·
IW392103
FEATURES
Mechanical chronograph movement – Perpetual calendar with displays for the date, day, month, four-digit year and perpetual moon phase – Stopwatch function with hours, minutes and seconds – Hour and minute counters combined in a single counter at “12 o’clock” – Flyback function – Small hacking seconds – Glucydur®* beryllium alloy indexless balance with high-precision adjustment screws on balance rim – 18-carat red gold rotor – See-through sapphire-glass back
MOVEMENT
IWC-manufactured calibre 89630
Frequency
28,800 A/h |
4 Hz
Jewels
51
Power reserve
68 h
Winding Automatic
WATCH
Materials
- 18K Red gold
- Stainless-steel
Ref.
IW392101: 18-carat red gold case, silver-plated dial.
Ref.
IW392103: Stainless-steel case, slate-coloured dial.
Diameter
43 mm
Height 15.5 mm
Glass Sapphire, arched edge, antireflective coating on both sides
Water-resistant 3 bar
STRAP
Dark brown alligator leather strap by Santoni, 18-carat red gold folding clasp
Black alligator leather strap by Santoni, stainless-steel folding clasp
*
IWC Schaffhausen is not the owner of the Glucydur® trademark.
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Contact
Clemens von Walzel
Department Manager Public Relations
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Press releases - 2017
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IWC Schaffhausen
Baumgartenstrasse 15 ·
CH-8201 Schaffhausen
Phone +41 (0)52
235 75 65 ·
Fax +41 (0)52
235 75 01 ·
Mobile
+41 (0)79 957 72 52
E-mail
info@iwc.com
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