IWC watchmaking "masterclass" yesterday at Mercedes F1 HQ

[threadlock]

Thanks to the jeweller where I bought my IWC last year - Wempe in Bond St - I spent yesterday as one of only five guests of Wempe, IWC and the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team in a watchmaking "masterclass". We arrived at noon in Brackley and the day finished with champagne, canapes and a free-for-all with the latest IWC models, including the £190k Grande Complication

We had a tour of the F1 team factory too, which was interesting but the inevitable secrecy meant we couldn't explore too many of the best bits.



The "masterclass" involved dismantling and rebuilding one of IWC's oldest, simplest and hopefully most robust movements with the guidance of the charismatic master watchmaker Christian Bresser.





At the end of the class Christian gave us a stern talking to about the need to service our IWCs, during which he demonstrated the toughness of IWC's movements by dropping his own £9k Portuguese Yacht Club straight onto the floor from 1m high. I forget the point he was making, but it was an impressive display!


Yeah, I know: cool story bro etc. etc. but it was a great day and IWC/Wempe deserve some credit.

[cst]

Sounds like a nice day out! Can't believe some would drop a 9k watch! I wouldn't want to drop my gshock!

[JRewing]

cst said:

Sounds like a nice day out! Can't believe some would drop a 9k watch! I wouldn't want to drop my gshock!

Presumably he'll have another one free if it breaks? It's an IWC publicity stunt.

[yeti]

JRewing said:

cst said:

Sounds like a nice day out! Can't believe some would drop a 9k watch! I wouldn't want to drop my gshock!

Presumably he'll have another one free if it breaks? It's an IWC publicity stunt.

Of course a sunt, but a risky one. I chatted to a JLC watchmaker about this particular stunt and he said it was really stupid. Catch the crown and it'll kill the watch there and then, shock protection or not.

[JRewing]

yeti said:

Of course a sunt, but a risky one. I chatted to a JLC watchmaker about this particular stunt and he said it was really stupid. Catch the crown and it'll kill the watch there and then, shock protection or not.

Very true, which would leave IWC looking very stupid. Unless he just put it back on his wrist and pretended it was fine!
And then the next day he picks one from IWC stock and no one's any the wiser!

[threadlock]

JRewing said:

cst said:

Sounds like a nice day out! Can't believe some would drop a 9k watch! I wouldn't want to drop my gshock!

Presumably he'll have another one free if it breaks? It's an IWC publicity stunt.

After dropping the watch we all had the opportunity to inspect it for an hour afterwards (and I did). It was his own personal watch and he'd paid for it himself, without benefiting from much of a staff discount, as he explained when we asked him about it. It would have been hugely embarrassing for Herr Bresser if it had broken, whether IWC had replaced it foc or he'd fixed it himself. It was his confidence in the movement's robustness that was impressive.

IWC was not sponsoring his ownership of the watch or the demonstration of its resilience.

[Arch Angel]

threadlock said:

JRewing said:

cst said:

Sounds like a nice day out! Can't believe some would drop a 9k watch! I wouldn't want to drop my gshock!

Presumably he'll have another one free if it breaks? It's an IWC publicity stunt.

After dropping the watch we all had the opportunity to inspect it for an hour afterwards (and I did). It was his own personal watch and he'd paid for it himself, without benefiting from much of a staff discount, as he explained when we asked him about it. It would have been hugely embarrassing for Herr Bresser if it had broken, whether IWC had replaced it foc or he'd fixed it himself. It was his confidence in the movement's robustness that was impressive.

IWC was not sponsoring his ownership of the watch or the demonstration of its resilience.

Hi.
I was also invited that week and must say that it was an extraordinary day! After the class I asked about this specific "test" which was performed as I had dropped my watch a few years ago & it was on stone! We spoke about it for quite some time and it was painful to see this done but very interesting to hear his confident answer: Watches have to perform so much more than any other object in our lives & he´d been doing this for over 6 months with his watch and it was still running correctly.
It´s a philosophical question with all watch companies but I do remember Christian saying that by no means did he recommend anyone dropping their watches like this and this was not the message he wanted to convey, but more to show the differences between what a car would look like in comparison to a watch after impact and that the watch was still working & had to continue working.
I remember asking him if it were truly his watch and not just a loan from the company for marketing reasons? The answer was a very stern denial, that if he had a watch from the company it would never fall as he would have to explain & justify the damage should it be sent in for service after such a short time.
He´s just proud to show the quality of the product which he builds & believes in.
"If I didn´t think MY watch would survive the impact I wouldn´d do it, would I ?"
I know I still won´t be doing it with my IWC or any other watch but it´s good to know that they do endure much more than we believe!

[Variomatic]

That looks like a fantastic, and well worthwhile, event for any watch enthusiast!

On the subject of dropping your 9k watch, it looks dramatikc but bear in mind that the worst it'd do, if he was very unlucky indeed, is break a balance pivot. Given that the guy is a properly skilled watchmaker and will have access to IWC parts, that would be nowhere near the disaster for him that it would be for most other owners.

It'd still be embarassing in front of the class though