For IWC, 2009 is the year of the Aquatimer relaunch. IWC’s first Aquatimer saw daylight in 1967 and I doubt that one of these first models ever saw some water, because they didn’t look very water resistant. However, looks might be deceiving because IWC claimed it to be water resistant to 200 meters. Anyway, between 1967 and now, IWC has had several sports watches (GST, Ocean, Aquatimer) suitable for use below the surface.

The new line of Aquatimers have been presented at SIHH 2009 and a number of jewelers organized introduction events for their customers (click here for the Ace Jewelers presentation earlier this year). One of my personal favorites this year, is the IWC Aquatimer Chronograph Edition Galapagos Islands, or perhaps it is easier to remember IWC’s reference number 376705. A diver’s watch in the service of evolution, as IWC calls it. With this time piece, IWC supports the work of the Galapagos-based Charles Darwin Foundation with a contribution generated by the sales of the IWC ref.376705. The Galapagos islands – belonging to Ecuador – have a unique fauna and flora which is being threatened by harmful activities (like fishing, importing animals, growing tourism etc.). IWC wants to support the Darwin foundation, who makes visitors aware with ecologically sound behaviour and watches out over the waters of the Galapagos Islands to make sure animals do not fall victim to poachers and predators. This kind of support perfectly fits into IWC’s philosophy about durability and responsibility towards the environment. Although I am not a dedicated fan of IWC’s watches, I do cheer IWC’s management for embracing these kind of activities and ‘taking responsibility’.

As for the watch itself, it is no different from the other new Aquatimer watches by IWC, except for the used materials and the engraving on the caseback. The 376705 has a rubber coated stainless steel case and a black rubber strap. The caseback is engraved with the Galápagos tortoise and the text “Tribute to the Charles Darwin Foundation”. The photo below, clearly demonstrates the stainless steel caseback with the engraved tortoise.

The Aquatimer Chronograph Edition Galapagos Islands has a diameter of 44mm, which is more or less considered normal these days, for diving / sports watches. The height of the watch is 15mm. Like any other serious diving watch, the ref. 376705 has a screw-in crown and rotating bezel. Ofcourse, this watch is perfectly suited for professional diving since it is water resistant to 120 meters / 12 bar. IWC also made this watch very well readable in the dark, by applying luminescent elements on the hands, dial and bezel.

And one more for the lume freaks, I know you are out there

The chronograph movement is IWC caliber 79320, and as you probably already noticed about the chronograph/dial lay-out, it is indeed based on ETA’s (Valjoux) 7750 movement. This chronograph movement with an impressive track record has been heavily modified by IWC to live up to their high standards of watchmaking. Although there is technically speaking nothing wrong with this movement, I actually hoped that IWC would have used their in-house chronograph movement (used in the current line of Da Vinci models).

Below you’ll see the Galapagos Islands special edition IWC review by Alon Ben-Joseph, vice president of Ace Jewelers in Amsterdam. More watch related videos from them can be found at www.acejewelers.tv.

The IWC Aquatimer Chronograph Edition Galapagos Islands has a list price of 5700 Euro. Visit the e-boutique of my friends over at Ace Jewelers to get more information on this particular watch or other IWC watches. They are authorized IWC dealer and the first that have been approved by IWC to carry watches (and prices) via their e-boutique.

Special thanks to Dimer van Santen of Ace Jewelers for providing me with some custom photographs of the Aquatimer.

It took a while before I liked IWC. They are easy to adore, especially the classic looking models like the IWC Portuguese and Flieger. However, I always thought these watches were overrated. Asking almost 6000 Euro for a Portuguese Chronograph, with an ETA/Valjoux 7750 movement seems kind of optimistic. However, I must admit that IWC does a very nice job in finishing these fairly common movements.

And of course, a watch is more than a movement. The finish on IWC’s watch cases and bracelets is superb as well. IWC also has a rich history in watch making and is one of the first watch factories to produce their watches ‘green’. In the case of IWC, this means that their factory in Schaffhausen uses hydro-powered machinery for the production of watches.

Last year I bought this Ingenieur 3227-01 and since then, I have a subscription on their inhouse magazine (called Watch International) and try to keep track of IWC a bit more. Ace Jewelers, friend of the show, lead by Alon Ben-Joseph, is having this annual IWC show in his shop in Amsterdam.

I posted only a few blogs on the SIHH 2009 and IWC, but mainly on the new Ingenieur Mission Earth. The new Aquatimer was a bit of a disappointment, at least that was I thought it was. Having repeatedly told Alon of AceJewelers that it reminded me about the Citizen diver watches, they are actually nice and impressive watches.

As you can see below, the Aquatimer actually looks quite un-Citizen-ish on my wrist. I admit I was wrong.

Especially the case and dial are superb! The rotating bezel has this shiny finish which I really like. Perhaps this was also the case on the former Aquatimer, but I don’t recall that. Below you see the gold version again, next to the galvanized rubber model and stainless steel model.

I do wonder what the use is of a chronograph on a diver’s watch, but who am I to question a diver’s tool watch. Another model that I followed with interest since its introduction, is the new Big Ingenieur Chronograph. It is LARGE, but when you do eat enough pan cakes, it will grow on you! The non-chronograph version was a bit of a disappoinment really, although looking nice at first glance, I noticed that the edges of the case were not as sharp anymore as on the discontinued 3227-01 Ingenieur.

The crowd during the show was a healthy mix of people, all of them with a good interest in (IWC) watches. As you can see on the picture below, I’ve met with Rich Pontier, who took some very nice photographs (being a photographer) of the event and met some old friends like Bernard Werk (Watching magazine), Frank (Monochrome) and Ernie Romers (WatchUseek) and his wife.

From left to right: Jacqueline Romers, me, Rich Pontier and Bernard Werk

Host of the show, Alon Ben-Joseph (below) brought his family and his lovely girlfriend Chantalle (who was wearing a very nice Portuguese Chronograph in white gold).

I would like to thank Alon (Ace Jewelers) for organizing this nice event! The drinks, snacks, service and talk was a great way to start the week. I also would like to thank Ernie Romers for taking all these nice pictures with his new camera

More pictures of the event can be found on Rich Pontier’s website. You will also find some great pictures of the IWC tourbillons and minute repeaters in his photo collection.

Boesch Motorboote from Kilchberg (Lake Zurich) creates reddishbrown mahogany boats since 1920. Boesch boats are famous for their quick starts, especially useful for water-ski matches. To celebrate its 80th birthday, IWC created the Aquatimer Chronograph Boesch, limited to 300 timepieces. Which is, compared to most other limited editions in this segment, really limited. The caseback of this watch has a mahogany inlay with a marine screw propeller and the dial shows the Boesch logo below the date window.

Watch-Site, one of my blog sponsors, has this IWC Aquatimer Chronograph Boesch in stock and was so kind to let me do a review on this time piece. The pictures below do represent the actual watch for sale.

After removing the white carton box, printed ‘Boesch’ and the usual ‘IWC Schaffhausen’ logos, a black box appears. This big black IWC presentation box has the mahogany ‘deck’, as shown in the pictures below. Unfortunately, you won’t use the box much I guess The boxes are a bit bigger than the one of the regular IWC models. Below the mahogany deck (you can lift it out) are the booklets, warranty card and IWC polishing cloth.

This watch (ref. IWC 3782), is waterresistant to 120 meters (12 bar), has a screw-down crown, a slightly domed sapphire crystal and is a whopping 44mm in diameter. The movement is IWC caliber 79320, which is based on the proven Valjoux/ETA 7750 movement. This movement is known for its ‘wobble’, this is caused by the rotor that has one free spinning direction. Most mechanical watch afficinados love the fact that they can feel the free spin of their mechanical watch on their wrist. The finish of the movement is up to IWC’s high standards.

As written above, the case back of this watch has the mahogany inlay with a propeller. A welcome surprise, because most watches seem to have display backs (or see-through case backs), even some of the diver’s watches. Luckily, IWC takes this serious enough with the Aquatimer with a water resistance of 12 bar. As you can see on the picture below (don’t mind the IWC protection sticker, which is still on it), it looks amazing and reminds us of the Jacques Cousteau diver that IWC introduced in 2004.

One of the most stunning things about this watch in my opinion, is the color of the dial and rubber strap. It has a very subtle brownish color, which I didn’t see at first when unpacking the watch with little light. The rubber strap has the same brown color and features the brand’s name on each side. IWC uses the same system for adding and removing straps as they normally do. You’ll have to press the push pin before removing the strap (or link in case of a bracelet). It is a safe additional locking system in comparison to the regular push pins (e.g. Omega) or screws (like Rolex).

As you can see, the crown and the push buttons for the chronograph are big and therefore easy to operate. To set the time and / or date, the crown needs to be unscrewed first. One click is for correcting the date, one more is for setting the time.

The finish of IWC’s watch cases is superb! There is nothing negative I can comment on their craftmanship with respect to their watch cases. The combination of satin finish and the small number of polished elements looks so incredibly fine. Kudos to IWC for this.

Watch-Site offers this watch (BNIB) for 6500 Euro and comes with correct filled-in warranty card, booklets, polishing cloth and boxes. Visit http://www.watch-site.nl/watch_detail.php?photo=34 for high-res pictures that show a lot of detail.