IWC 18ct Yellow Gold Automatic Dress Watch ca. 1958–1963

Description

This vintage International Watch Co. Schaffhausen automatic dress watch from the late 1950s to early 1960s represents IWC at the absolute peak of its mid-century design and technical ambition — a period when the Schaffhausen manufacture was producing some of the most beautifully resolved and mechanically distinguished watches in Switzerland. The 18ct yellow gold case is a masterclass in restrained elegance: a smooth, polished round case with the gently downswept lugs characteristic of the finest IWC dress references of the era, wearing a presence on the wrist that feels considerably larger than its approximately 36mm diameter suggests.

The silvered dial is kept immaculately clean — no date, no sub-seconds — just a time-only presentation with applied yellow gold baton hour indices, a fine outer minute track of dot-and-dash design, and the full "International Watch Co. Schaffhausen" signature in elegant script at 12 o'clock, with "Automatic" printed at 6 o'clock. Gold-toned alpha hands complete a dial of quiet, authoritative perfection.

The Pellaton-winding automatic movement within — one of the most celebrated automatic winding systems in the history of the craft, developed by IWC's technical director Albert Pellaton — winds efficiently in both directions via its pawl-and-ratchet mechanism and is known for its exceptional reliability and longevity over decades of service. Paired with a dark brown crocodile leather strap, this is a genuinely beautiful piece of mid-century Swiss horology from one of the craft's most respected addresses.

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