A watch that stands the test of time without requiring adjustment, or almost, is the quest that IWC has achieved this year with the Portugieser Eternel Calendar With Moonphase. An eternal calendar? An unnecessary complication, the most grumpy will say, given that we will have to wait until the year 2100 to see the difference in terms of the calendar. As Lorenz Brunner explains: “I will be 125 years old. It is therefore unlikely that I will be able to admire my work at this age! It’s both beautiful and sad. » Nevertheless, for the beauty of the gesture, we can only applaud a Manufacture capable of such mastery.
Lift mountains
In terms of engineering, this watch therefore incorporates an eternal calendar, but also a moon phase. It’s a little nugget that deserves our full attention. Moreover, the Research & Development center had to face many difficulties. Lorenz Brunner explains: “I worked separately on two projects that ultimately came together: the secular calendar and the moon phase. Each presents its own difficulties. For the secular calendar, the biggest challenge was to be able to integrate it into the limited space of the watch. We were starting from Kurt Claus’ calendar and we had to integrate the additional complication. For the moon phase, we only talk about cogs. It’s not that complex construction-wise, but we didn’t want to create a new movement.
We also had to play with the available space. In addition, the calculations are very complicated and we can only work with a theoretical value. But if we compare it today to an atomic watch, it is correct. » We are not surprised to know that at IWC, it is above all the technique that counts. The design follows. That said, the aesthetics of the product are not left behind and we are faced with effective teamwork.
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The frontiers of innovation
The perpetual calendar is part of IWC’s DNA. The House delivers a revisit each year. But can we always improve a movement which, basically, was ultra-innovative insofar as it made the customer’s use of the watch easier? Lorenz Brunner enthuses: “When I arrived at IWC, this was a question I asked myself. I told myself that five years later it would all be over. And today, I have 35 projects! I work a lot with universities, aerospace, etc. And they also have new ideas that we can benefit from. Our partners approach us when they discover new materials. Our perpetual calendar is indeed unique in that you only need to work with the crown to synchronize it. But until two years ago, if everything went out of sync, you had to call a watchmaker. We have introduced a small construction which prevents this from happening. Today, we present a secular calendar with moon phase and… we still have a few ideas, particularly concerning the correction. There is always a way to do better! »
Iwc.com
