IWC Da Vinci : The Rise of The Perpetual Calendar

Did you know that the Perpetual Calendar system we are so familiar with today was once like a golden egg in a stone, revered for its extreme complexity? It required meticulous care to assemble due to the sheer number of tiny parts that were difficult to inspect or balance visually. In an era without the aid of computers or sensors, and lacking the shock resistance we see today, owning a Perpetual Calendar watch meant having vast wealth to pay for both its initial price and the exorbitant maintenance costs required throughout its ownership.

kurt-klaus-iwc-da-vinci-perpetual-calendar

“When I made the Perpetual Calendar, I didn’t know exactly what a computer was. I made all my sketches on the drawing board. I made the prototypes and after manually making the calculations.” (When I was coming up with the idea, I didn't have a computer. I just used a drawing board and did the math in my head.) - as recounted by the master himself.

It wasn't until 1985 that a man succeeded in innovating and refining the entire Perpetual Calendar system. His mechanism could automatically skip the 30th/31st of each month, recognize whether February had 28 or 29 days, and keep time accurately for hundreds of years after being set. This man was even dubbed the “Prometheus of Watchmaking,” signifying yet another major leap for the world of horology. That man's name is “Kurt Klaus,” the head engineer of IWC.

Caliber 79261 / Moonphase pocket watch 5250

The Journey of the Prometheus of Watchmaking

Kurt Klaus is Swiss-born. He focused entirely on horological engineering before moving to Germany to work alongside Albert Pellaton, another legendary movement inventor at IWC. Before creating his new Perpetual Calendar mechanism, the master was best known for his expertise in pocket watches with calendar and moonphase functions. After receiving the official task from IWC to develop a Perpetual Calendar for a wristwatch, he was determined to solve the difficulty of adjusting the settings when the watch had been idle for a long time. He replaced the numerous separate functional pushers with a system that could be set entirely via the crown, preventing damage to the mechanism from setting the calendar during the time-sensitive date transition period.

Once the development direction was set, he created a new mechanism that was significantly smaller, used fewer parts, had better shock resistance, reached unprecedented levels of accuracy, and most importantly, dramatically lowered production costs. This marked the beginning of a masterpiece in the watchmaking world by Kurt Klaus: the birth of a new Perpetual Calendar wristwatch collection called “Da Vinci.”

A sketch of the fortress of Piombino and

a prototype sketch of the IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar 3750.

IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar 3750

IWC Da Vinci: A Significant Leap for the World of Horology

When the essential movement was compared to the fire that Prometheus brought to humanity, leading to rapid developments in other areas, how could the watch casing be anything ordinary? The architectural design of the fortress at the port of Piombino, designed by Leonardo da Vinci, was used as inspiration for this superlative timepiece. The dome of the fortress was translated into the shape of the case and the hooded lugs, which feature beautifully connected lines. This Da Vinci collection also paved the way for several milestones, as follows:

IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Ref. 3750

The first watch of the collection featured a Perpetual Calendar system with a 4-digit year display that remains accurate until the year 2499, paired with a moonphase calendar with an error of only one day every 177 years. It was the first time all adjustments could be made via the crown. Despite such high capability and precision, it was launched at a price significantly lower than other brands' Perpetual Calendar watches. Consequently, the Da Vinci 3750 had more orders in its first two years after its 1985 launch than all other brands combined.

IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Ceramic Case Ref. 3755

After the first model's resounding success, rather than resting on their laurels, IWC chose to seek new innovations to keep the watch industry thriving. This time, IWC chose "Diamond Ceramic," the hardest and most scratch-resistant material available at the time. However, shaping and finishing it was a significant challenge. The result was the world's "first ceramic watch" made of Zirconium Oxide, featuring ceramic housing over an 18K yellow gold case in 1986. IWC introduced this new ceramic in two colors: white and black.

This revolutionary achievement led to IWC selling over 2,000 Perpetual Calendar watches between 1985 and 1986, more than all other brands in the world combined. In that era, orders for full Perpetual Calendar systems rarely reached the hundreds because, before this revolution, the cost of ownership and maintenance was so high that few could afford them. Even though sales for other brands dropped, no one was angry at IWC. Because of IWC's love for the industry, they shared their mechanism development rather than keeping it to themselves. Other brands could use or build upon it for the benefit of the industry, preventing the kind of crisis the quartz revolution had brought to mechanical watchmaking. This is why the IWC Da Vinci is a Perpetual Calendar watch that every brand unanimously applauded upon its birth, bestowing it with the title of "the best" at the time, and they continue to apply Kurt Klaus's development blueprint to this day.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

🔺 Interested in authentic pre-owned watches from other IWC collections? Click here 🔻