Why we love it

Simple. Refined. Understated.  

The role of dress watch is to not leap from the wrist, shouting its presence to onlookers. It should be a subtle companion that accents the wearer and their outfit. Ideally clad in a precious metal case, a dress watch should be simple and clean, function-forward, and without clutter.

While the International Watch Company (known colloquially as IWC) is more often associated with their iconic Portuguese chronographs, sturdy Aquatimer divers, Big Pilot aviators, or their 70's inspired Ingenieur SLs, it has also been a longstanding manufacturer of some of the most beautiful and elegant designs for dressier occasions.

Powering this elegant is the iconic manually-wound Calibre 89, universally regarded as one of the highest-grade and most important drivetrains to come out of Switzerland's post-war years.  Standing firmly as the cornerstone of IWC's in-house workmanship, the Calibre 89 was a superlative creation, as accurate and reliable as it was beautiful. 

This particular example features an untouched satin-silver dial, applied stick and Arabic 'Explorer' indices, and a simple straight-lug case in 18k yellow gold. 

Simple. Refined. Understated.

And simply beautiful.

The Story 

The legendary Calibre 89 began its life inside the mind of the movement designer Albert Pellaton, the equally legendary watchmaker who honed his craft at Vacheron Constantin before moving to Schaffhausen as IWC's Technical Director in 1944. For his first major project, Pellaton penned the Calibre 89, building on the skeleton of the Calibre 83, which had been IWC's workhorse movement since the early 1930s. 

While the Calibre 89 is perhaps best known to collectors for driving the Ministry of Defense's Mark XI pilot's watches, it made its way into a wide array of civilian-grade timekeepers, many of which sported the same spartan design language as their military brethren.