The IWC Watch Wrist Waterproof WWW - Time514

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Figure 2: Caseback. Figure 3: Inner side of case. Figure 4: Movement For instance JLC used ‘F’, Omega used ‘Y’ and Vertex had ‘A’ on the case back. If one subtracts the M-number from the case number, one always gets the number 1118980. For example case number 1132618, minus M-number 13638 leads to 1118980. The movement was not protected against magnetism by a soft iron lid, as was done later for the Mark 11.The inner side of the case back showed the case number, the oval IWC stamp and the words ‘stainless steel’ (Figure 3). All movements were cal. 83-12 (Figure 4). They were equipped with a Breguet overcoil, frequence 18.000 bpm (2,5Hz) and there was a bi-metallic balance. From a total of 68.400 cal. 83 movements produced between 1930 and 1947, 10.800 had an incabloc shock resistance device. None of the WWW's had an incabloc, but there was a kind of flexible ring around the movement which could absorb shocks to some degree, protecting in such way the complete movement and not only the balance shaft. The original dial had a ‘railroad’ track around the outer edge and a small one around the the subsecond dial, located at 6 o’clock (Figure 5). The letters ‘IWC’ were visible in a small oval under the 12. There were Arabic numbers. Dots of luminous paint were applied at each digit and on the hands. The paint contained Radium-226, a highly radioactive material. Many ‘surviving’ WWW’s do not have the original dial, but have been replaced by Tritium containing dials, which were far less dangerous (Figure 6). These dials are called by MoD (Ministry of Defence) dials by collectors. A few watches are known with a ‘NATO dial’ Here an extra printing can be seen: W10/445-5890 (Figure 7). According to Greg Steer these dials were probably been introduced after 1960, even possibly between 1970-1980. IWC did not deliver directly to the MoD but to a watch manufacturer in London, Moise Dreyfuss Ltd, 88/89 Hatton Gardens. During World War II, IWC also delivered military watches to the German army, but not directly. Watches were supplied to civilian wholesalers in Cologne (Gerl and Schipper) and Berlin (Heindorf). The first IWC WWW sample watch was sent to London on May 23rd 1945. Shipment remained low until June 19th, but increased later. On December 15th, 1945, all 6000 pieces had been sent to London (Table 1). IWC WWW after 1945 While the first delivery took place on May 23, 1945, World War II ended a few weeks earlier in Europe. The Japanese surrendered on August 15 after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This meant that the British army would have had a stock of thousands of brand new IWC WWW’s at the end of 1945. However, the KNIL army was freed of the Japanese Date Quantities Date Quantities 1945-05-23 1 1945-06-19 72 1945-05-31 6 1945-06-19 480 1945-05-18 6 1945-07-02 600 1945-05-31 6 1945-07-13 600 1945-05-31 6 1945-08-22 600 1945-05-31 18 1945-09-20 600 1945-05-31 60 1945-10-09 600 1945-05-31 42 1945-10-31 600 1945-06-19 24 1945-11-19 600 1945-06-19 6 1945-11-30 600 1945-06-19 24 1945-12-15 450 Total sum (without sample): 6000 Figure 5: Original dial. Figure 6: MoD dial. Figure 7: NATO Dial. Horological Journal July 2007 273
Figure 8: KNIL casebacks occupation, but by no means of the Indonesian freedom fighters. The KNIL tried to buy weapons, vehicles and supplies all over the world. Nations with excellent weapons (USA, Great Britain) were the allies of Holland during the war, but did not support the view of the Dutch, concerning the conflict with the Indonesians, and therefore were reluctant to sell military goods. Watches, however, were less of a problem to obtain. We have tried to find out how and when the KNIL ordered the IWC WWW and have searched the archives of the Netherlands Purchase Committee (NPC), which was active during the war in New York. The committee was authorised by the Dutch government, which resided in exile in London, to buy military goods. Most of the NPC archives have been scattered over the USA or have been destroyed, so we have searched the National Archives and Archives of Army Museums in the Netherlands. We have contacted the libraries of the Imperial War Museum, the National Army Museum and the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) in the UK.The REME is important as they serviced W.W.W. watches in Ashford, Middlesex. Mr B Baxter, the Technical Historian of REME, said that no documents on the IWC WWW are present anymore. In 1995, A Taylerson published ‘Military Timepieces - Watches Issued to British Armed Forces(1870-1970)’ but it provides no information on the IWC WWW, nor does Z Weselowski in his book ‘A concise guide to military time pieces 1880-1990’. Research in the library of the Royal Dutch Army and Weapon Museum in Delft, the Netherlands, revealed that a considerable number of Dutch young men escaped from the German occupation and were successful in reaching England. They used the same routes as the British war pilots who were shot down by the Germans over Holland, with most travelling via Spain. In England, they were recruited as war volunteers, and received military and technical training from British instructors in Wolverhampton, Glasgow, and also at REME in Ashford. Their technical education consisted mainly of being able repair and maintain weapons and war vehicles. The Dutch copied the REME model and set up a similar service organisation up in the East Indies, using an almost identical name - IEME (Indian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers).The IEME was completely self supporting and the personnel repaired tanks, trucks, radio’s, guns and camera’s. There were no watchmakers in the KNIL army but there were instrument makers to repair optical instruments and occasionally watches. One instrument-maker said: ‘The most difficult item that I had to make was a tiny shaft for a watch. On one end its diameter was 0,64mm and on the other end 0,36mm.’ Absolutely nothing was sent for repair to Holland or Switzerland, as the KNIL was Figure 9: KNIL veteran Figure 8: KNIL veteran memorial 10,000 miles from home and shipments to and from Europe simply took too long. While the classic and uniform inscription on the IWC WWW watches have been described previously, the added extra KNIL inscription is by no means uniform (Figure 8). Note that the markings have sometimes been stamped but that other techniques have also been used. In two of the five watches the original fixed pin bars have been replaced by spring bars. It differs from place, letter type and marking technique. Certainly the KNIL inscription was not done in Schaffhausen and almost certain not by REME in Ashford, but by IEME in the East Indies. As there were multiple service units, scattered over the immense large country, it is plausible that engraving techniques were not done in the same way. We doubt that any service was necessary for the watches as they were brand new when purchased in 1946.The 4 digit number engraved under KNIL represents the KNIL numbering. The origin and meaning of this numbering has not been tracked by us. KNIL Testimony Although we assumed that the IWC WWW probably has been used by Air Force KNIL military personnel, we now have evidence that this is not the case. Mr Gerard Casius reviewed the NPC archives looking at air planes and Air Force supplies used by the KNIL. The archives were still intact 30 years ago 274 July 2007 Horological Journal
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The IWC Watch Wrist Waterproof WWW - Time514

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