Lot Essay
Part of a limited edition of 50 pieces only, this stunning and incredibly IWC Grande Complication offers a huge presence both technically and aesthetically.
In 1985, during the midst of the quartz crisis, IWC set out to create what would be its first grande complication wristwatch - and one of the world’s most complicated timepieces: a timepiece featuring a perpetual calendar, a chronograph, and a minute repeater. A team of watchmakers and engineers was commissioned, and along with two young wunderkinds of complicated horology, Dominic Renaud and Giulio Papi were tasked to create IWC’s grande complication. After five years of painstaking development work and 12 patents, this horological masterpiece was officially presented at the Basel fair in 1990.
The 42.5 mm platinum case houses an automatic caliber with no less than 568 components that give life to 18 functions: hour, minute and seconds displays, moon phase, month, day and date displays, perpetual calendar, indication of year, decade, century and millennium, chronograph seconds counter, chronograph minutes counter, chronograph hours counter, minute repeater, quarter repeater and hour repeater.
In 1985, during the midst of the quartz crisis, IWC set out to create what would be its first grande complication wristwatch - and one of the world’s most complicated timepieces: a timepiece featuring a perpetual calendar, a chronograph, and a minute repeater. A team of watchmakers and engineers was commissioned, and along with two young wunderkinds of complicated horology, Dominic Renaud and Giulio Papi were tasked to create IWC’s grande complication. After five years of painstaking development work and 12 patents, this horological masterpiece was officially presented at the Basel fair in 1990.
The 42.5 mm platinum case houses an automatic caliber with no less than 568 components that give life to 18 functions: hour, minute and seconds displays, moon phase, month, day and date displays, perpetual calendar, indication of year, decade, century and millennium, chronograph seconds counter, chronograph minutes counter, chronograph hours counter, minute repeater, quarter repeater and hour repeater.