IWC MARK IX PILOT WATCH TRUE OR FALSE " A story between hope and fear" Adrian v d Meijden (right) and Hans Goerter (left) As an avid IWC collector (AvdM) for many years I frequently visit watch fairs in Germany (Cologne, Dusseldorf,Hamburg, Munich) where I found many of my collectors pieces. In 2001 I met a man, who after he had retired,became a watch trader, specialized in IWC. From him I bought at several occasions beautiful vintage IWC wristwatches to be added to my collection. among them were cal.85,88,89 853 and others. In October 2002,immediately after the first IWC collectors meeting in Schaffhausen he sent me a fax. In German language he told me that he was able to get the holy grail for me :an original IWC Mark IX Pilot Watch! Just a month earlier Mr. Pantli from IWC told us collectors that a Mark IX was even harder to find than any other collectors watch from IWC, including the legendary Big Pilot Watch cal.52 SC. Prices for a Mark IX had gone up to astronomical levels. IWC collectors who have seen a Mark IX fall in love with it and they will hunt for one eagerly. (Fig.1 MarkIX). Fig. 1 - The Mark XI The holy grail 1/7
The Mark IX was produced between 1936 and 1944.A total of 430 watches is currently registered at IWC. The watch case was produced from stainless steel and it had a snap back instead of a screwed back as had been used in other pilot watches of that era(jlc, Omega). Inside the movement was a cal.83 with small second at 6 o'clock. The movement was protected by a steel dust cap, sometimes wrongly interpreted as a protection against magnetic influence. Later on IWC developed soft iron caps to protect the movements against magnetic fields in Mark XI and in the Ingenieur models. The features of the movements were: cal.83-12 lignes Bimetallic balance with Breguet balance spring 15+16 jewels 4.10 mm height Diameter of movement 26.5 mm Ribbed Bezel with rotating Ring and soldered index Strap Lug (soldered tube), dust cap - special aircraft Watch Glass : plastic(intention not to break in the cockpit) Black Dial, Arabic numerals, luminous material on numerals and hands. Fig. 2 MK11 - Movement The name Mark IX was not an original nor an official name. It was not meant to be a military watch but a " Spezialuhr fur Flieger"(a special pilot watch)(fig. 3,old brochure Mark IX) When the seller mentioned the price of the Mark IX for me,(7.800 Euro),I became suspicious immediately.in fact it was too cheap!but he stated : with the watch comes the original extract from the archives and you get from me 12 months of guarantee.if anything is not right you just return the watch and you get your money back.i examined the watch carefully.it was a beauty in exellent condition.undoubtly the movement was cal.83 and the movement nr. was from around 1940.On the steel dust cap and inside the case the numbers were matching.the fine perlage was present both inside the case and on the dust lid.(fig.7,mark IX with cal.83,dust cap) The Extract of the IWC archives stated that this watch had been delivered to Weinstahl in 1944.However,it was not mentioned that this was a pilot watch but a "Herrenuhr in Stahl". From other collectors I knew that in the archives it had been not always classified as a pilot watch. As I could get a 12 month period of guarantee and as I knew the seller for more than 2 years, I decided to buy the Mark IX...but I sent the watch immediately to Schaffhausen for final identification. This process took months and finally I urged Fig. 3 Old brochure of the Mark IX 2/7
IWC to give me an answer before the period of guarantee had expired. And than the answer came (Fig.4 positive confirmation by IWC). " WE ARE DEALING WITH A REAL IWC. HOWEVER, IN OUR ARCHIVES IT IS NOT STATED THAT IT IS A PILOT WATCH Fig. 4 positive confirmation by IWC So what, I thought this happened before with other Mark IX's. The next time I met the seller I told him the good news and that I had been suspiscious. He repeated that he anyhow would have taken it back if anything would not be in good order. Later in 2002, while visiting the watch fairs, I noticed that my IWC supplier got seriously ill and after several operations he died from his disease within one year after the diagnosis. In the meanwhile I had purchased from him my last IWC a vintage Ingenieur cal.8521. In August 2004 a fellow German IWC collector told me that during the last years not less than 4 Mark IX had been offered to him. All 4 were taken by him to IWC personally where they had been examined by Mr. JÜRGEN KING and expert on the old IWC calibers. It turned out that all 4 were fakes! One of them could only be identified as false after microscopic investigation! Again I became nervous, especially after this new information. Who at IWC had examined my watch? The letter had obviously been signed by a lady from aftersales. I decided to send the watch a second time, 3/7
now to the personal attention of MR.KING and an extra phone call to Mrs. VERONIKA MICHEL who had been extremely kind and helpful to IWC collectors during years. Nearly 2 years after I had bought the watch, the second letter came. (Fig.5: negative confirmation by IWC) THIS IS NOT AN ORIGINAL IWC MARK IX, THE MOVEMENT IS ORIGINAL IWC, THE CASE HAS NOT BEEN PRODUCED BY IWC" (Fig5. Negative confirmation by IWC) I was mad, sad and disappointed. I lost 7.800 Euro and an illusion. The seller had died. I could do nothing about it. At that time I approached the co-author of this article (HG) and I told him the story including the promise of the seller that he would take the watch back if something was wrong. Fig. 5 - Negative confirmation by IWC As I did not know the German law,(hg) suggested to locate the family and to confront the heirs with the situation.for reasons of privacy we delete on the procedure followed, but in fact a restitution procedure was started and the family offered me in return 2 IWC watches left by my IWC seller as part of his legacy. Even now, I have the feeling, after knowing him for many years that he had handled well intentioned. 4/7
What had happened and what had I, as an IWC collector, done wrong? Almost certainly the following took place. An original IWC cal.83 wristwatch has been bought for probably 500-1000 Euro. Between 1930 and 1947 a total of 68.400 cal. 83 have been built. While Mark IX is a gem, its movement is by no means rare. For such watch an extract is made on request by IWC stating the movement number, the case number, the year of sale and the name of the retailer. Subsequently the movement is taken out and the case is put away.a complete new case is manufactured including the inner steel lid, most frequently in East European countries. The numbers of the wasted case are stamped in the new "Mark IX " case including the term "STAYBRITE" and the IWC stamp "PROBUS SCAFUSIA". Fig. 6 Extract of the archives A new Mark IX is born! The forgers deliver such high quality work that a non expert can not see the difference between true or false. Even the perlage and the patina of old metal is present. This brings us of course to the question at what level of originality should a Mark IX be, to be called original. We believe that this is a matter of debate. We consider a not original crown,a new dial or a part of the movement not a reason to disqualify a watch as not original. However,if a complete new case is made, not by or under the authority of IWC we consider this as fraud and an attempt to deceive collectors 5/7
Very recently IWC has decided not to issue extracts from the archives for certain vintage models anymore without examining the piece in Schaffhausen. The reason for that is obvious and should be applauded. If you consider to buy a rare, expensive collectors IWC, request from the seller that it is examined first in Schaffhausen...and hope that the expert is an expert. Adrian v d Meijden H.Goerter (HG) May 2005. 6/7
Some pictures of the discussed Mark XI Fig. 7 Cover, movement and protection cap Fig. 9 Case and cover Fig. 8 Dial and rotating bezel 7/7