101st Auction
2019/11/16
Lot 140
International Watch Co., Schaffhausen, Movement No. 1014035, Case No. 1033435, Cal. 52T 19''' H6 S.C., 55 mm, circa 1939
A large aviation wristwatch of the Deutsche Luftwaffe
Case: steel, matt-finished, push back, anti-magnetic protection cap. Dial: black, centre seconds, luminous alpha hands.
"The big aviators watch of IWC produced for the German Airforce"
In 1940, 1.000 pieces of the big aviator's watch with case numbers between 1033201 and 1034200 were shipped to Siegfried Heindorf, Berlin/Germany.
As in maritime navigation, aviation required the most precise watches and clocks possible in oder to determine geographical longitude. Precise, robust and easlily read watches were ordered for air travel to determine aircraft location and flight duration.
Pilots needed wristwatches that could be accurately and instantly read when both hands were being used to pilot the aircraft. Their navigation watch had to be worn on the arm over their flight outfit. Luftwaffe High Command gave exact instructions regarding operating precision and the degree of movement completion required. Before being delivered, every single watch had to be tested and given operating certification by the German Naval Observatory or some other official test institute. The fine adjustment of every watch had to be conducted in six positions and at three varying temperatures.
The B-wristwatches by IWC, Lange & Soehne, Wempe, Walter Storz, and Lacher & Co. were regulated as navigation watches; each one of them had been tested for its chronometer quality by the naval observatory in Gesundbrunnen (near Glashuette). The watches had specially made leather wristbands so that the pilots could wear them over their jackets.
Source: www.knirim.de
A large aviation wristwatch of the Deutsche Luftwaffe
Case: steel, matt-finished, push back, anti-magnetic protection cap. Dial: black, centre seconds, luminous alpha hands.
"The big aviators watch of IWC produced for the German Airforce"
In 1940, 1.000 pieces of the big aviator's watch with case numbers between 1033201 and 1034200 were shipped to Siegfried Heindorf, Berlin/Germany.
As in maritime navigation, aviation required the most precise watches and clocks possible in oder to determine geographical longitude. Precise, robust and easlily read watches were ordered for air travel to determine aircraft location and flight duration.
Pilots needed wristwatches that could be accurately and instantly read when both hands were being used to pilot the aircraft. Their navigation watch had to be worn on the arm over their flight outfit. Luftwaffe High Command gave exact instructions regarding operating precision and the degree of movement completion required. Before being delivered, every single watch had to be tested and given operating certification by the German Naval Observatory or some other official test institute. The fine adjustment of every watch had to be conducted in six positions and at three varying temperatures.
The B-wristwatches by IWC, Lange & Soehne, Wempe, Walter Storz, and Lacher & Co. were regulated as navigation watches; each one of them had been tested for its chronometer quality by the naval observatory in Gesundbrunnen (near Glashuette). The watches had specially made leather wristbands so that the pilots could wear them over their jackets.
Source: www.knirim.de
estimated
15.000—20.000 €
Price realized
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