Pre SIHH 2018: IWC Tribute To Pallweber Edition «150 Years»

In 1868 in Schaffausen, the American pioneer Florentine Ariosto Jones founded IWC “International Watch Company” with the aim of combining skilled Swiss craftsmanship with American manufacturing technology… In 2018 IWC will turn 150 years old; during the next SIHH in Geneva, the Maison will unveil a special Jubilee collection composed by 27 limited edition models to mark this event.

One among all, not the most “complicated” but the most significant, is the IWC Tribute To Pallweber Edition «150 Years», the first wrist watch with digital display ever made by the manufacture.

The timepiece shows hours and minutes in large numerals on rotating discs, and is inspired by the pocket watches that IWC produced in 1884. The IWC Tribute to Pallweber Edition «150 Years» has a 18-carat red gold 45mm case, white dial with lacquered finish, white display discs, and a blued seconds hand. The watch is available in a limited edition of 250 pieces. As a reference to the design of the historic Pallweber watches and a tribute to F. A. Jones – the American watchmaker who founded IWC – the windows of the digital display are labelled “Hours” and “Minutes”.

For the in house 94200 “hand-wound”  caliber, IWC developed a new solution for the technically sophisticated digital display. While toothed cogs moved the discs in the historic Pallweber pocket watches, the impulse that advances the single-minute disc now is supplied by a separate wheel train with a barrel of its own. A release mechanism that establishes a connection to the watch’s main wheel train unlocks the train every 60 seconds and then immediately locks it again. After 10 minutes, the single-minute disc moves the 10-minute disc forward by one position. Every 60 minutes, the hour ring jumps to the next numeral. The fact that the flow of power in the main wheel train is not influenced by the separate wheel train guarantees a precise rate and a high 60-hour power reserve.

Like all the Jubilee models, the IWC Tribute to Pallweber Edition «150 Years» is combined with a black alligator strap and shows the Jubilee insignia on the movement visible through the sapphire case back. Price about €.38.000