IWC Vintage Aquatimer Watch Looks Classic Good, Reminds You Of When Diving Was Not As Safe

iwcv41 IWC Vintage Aquatimer Watch Looks Classic Good, Reminds You Of When Diving Was Not As SafePeople have been diving for probably thousands of years, but it really became a science in the 20th century, after lots of envisioning occurred in the 19th century. The first diving watch was a Rolex because of its water resistance (Rolex Oyster case), but divers, like all people needed a variety. IWC decided to release the Aquatimer in the late 1960s, perhaps a little late on the bandwagon, but the Aquatimer was a nice watch. With the IWC Vintage Aquatimer, IWC pays homage to the original Aquatimer while at the same time releasing a fully capable diving instrument.

Like each of the 2008 IWC Vintage line watches, the Vintage Aquatimer does history justice without sacrificing modern demands. The Vintage Aquatimer is a no nonsense watch. Bold hands for high visibility add to indicators which are lathered in luminant for the best possible underwater viewing. The internal rotating bezel can be easily operated with gloves and enjoy an arguably better legibility than an external rotating bezel. The entire watch reminds me of the Ball Engineer Master Diver watch series, and both Ball and IWC probably did s bit of copying of each other, but that is mere speculation and no offense in the watch world.

Once again with the entire 2008 Vintage line from IWC, each model will be produced in steel with a limited edition run of 500 watches per watch in platinum. A serious metal, for a serious watch. I imagine that the platinum watches will fall into the hands of the most serious collectors as their increase in price is not commensurate with any increase in utility or aesthetic. The rubber strap on the Vintage Aquatimer is interesting. The cross-hatching pattern on the strap is meant to simulate the canvas straps that once held diving watches in place. Here the patten makes for a nicely done weave texturing that is pleasing and brings out the smoother details on the face.

The entire IWC Vintage collection is conservative and tasteful. While these are not "revolutionary looks," they have an essence of universal appeal and fit. I am happy to see that conservative does not have to mean boring. My experience is that the nicest watches are those that grow on you. The IWC Vintage collection all represent designs that have grown on enough people as to make them a classic, and the IWC Vintage Aquatimer is no exception.

See IWC watches on eBay here.

See IWC watches on Amazon here. IWC Vintage Aquatimer Watch Looks Classic Good, Reminds You Of When Diving Was Not As Safe

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.


Related Posts:

This entry was posted in General, IWC, New Watches, Watch Buying, Watch Style. Bookmark the permalink.
Post comment as twitter logo facebook logo
Sort: Newest | Oldest

Maybe you could edit the page subject IWC Vintage Aquatimer Watch Looks Classic Good, Reminds You Of When Diving Was Not As Safe to more generic for your content you write. I enjoyed the post still.

I must say that, for £4500 for the steel version, I'd expect a proper deployant clasp rather than a strap-wearing pin buckle.

Please, can you PM me and tell me few more thinks about this, I am really fan of your blog...

F.G. Cottam,
Very good points you bring up. Many of us do enjoy a nice engraving on a caseback, especially when it reminds us of the nature of a watch. However, careful not to confuse those who don't assume the casebacks of these new retro versions are sapphire crystals and not literally glass. Many do enjoy viewing the movement, and IWC probably correctly assumed that these models being available in materials such as platinum would be more used for style purposes that utility.
Better point on the suffering lack of anti-magnetism on the Ingenieur. No way of giving it an exhibition back while keeping such utility. It would be best for IWC to warn those customers expecting the "legacy" utility of the new retro models. Either way, they are beautifully handsome to look at, and likely a pleasure to own.

A fair appraisal, except that the watch manages less depth resistance than the original (which hardly counts as progress) and the glass back means you don't get the nice submarine engraving I have on my Aquatimer Titan.
The real let-down in the Vintage series is the Ingeneur. Again a glass back, so no soft iron inner case and none of the anti-magnetic properties that distinguished the original. Less a timepiece than a contradiction in terms.

Trackbacks

  1. Anonymous says:

    [...] de A blog to Read Por ese precio, o algo [...]