Smoke and Mirrors - part 2 (ETA "modifications & upgrades")

[v76]

Excellent post.
This is why a company like Seiko deserves respect.

Total value (in-house) of a watch:

Zenith: 75% +
JLC and GO: 85% or thereabouts.
Seiko: 100%!

[FlyPenFly]

Yes, when ETA was distributing kits instead of complete movements there was a problem with the wide margin of quality during assembly - which is part of the reason Hayek stopped the practice of selling the ebauchés. That's also why ETA now offers more options including rotor engraving as pointed out by a few members. See FPF's quote immediately below.

I think this is why it might make pre 2007 IWC ETA based watches somewhat more desirable in a collection point of view. Watches like the 3706 will never go out of style IMO.

Under $5000, nobody has made a better ETA based movement than pre 2007 IWC. That is to say, a watch like the IWC 3706 is the best a 7750 in stock configuration has ever been made. I think some other houses like Hublot might do even deeper modifications of the 7750 but that is well over $10,000.

[v76]

I think this is why it might make pre 2007 IWC ETA based watches somewhat more desirable in a collection point of view. Watches like the 3706 will never go out of style IMO.

Under $5000, nobody has made a better ETA based movement than pre 2007 IWC. That is to say, a watch like the IWC 3706 is the best a 7750 in stock configuration has ever been made. I think some other houses like Hublot might do even deeper modifications of the 7750 but that is well over $10,000.

I find vintage IWCs to be far more desirable. The quality of workmanship (movement design and finish, not decoration) on a cal. 83, 88 or 89 is an order of magnitude better than anything IWC has to offer currently (as nice as the modern movements are, and they are nice!). Even the 85xx series autos are better finished, IMHO.

[FlyPenFly]

Vintage IWCs have really taken off which helps price support for modern IWCs.

[ulackfocus]

I find vintage IWCs to be far more desirable. The quality of workmanship (movement design and finish, not decoration) on a cal. 83, 88 or 89 is an order of magnitude better than anything IWC has to offer currently (as nice as the modern movements are, and they are nice!). Even the 85xx series autos are better finished, IMHO.

IWC, like a lot of brands, had more efficiency of design in their pre-1970 calibers. The same Pellaton winding system is found in a few of their modern lines, but nowadays there's more emphasis on decoration and display backs. Prettier for sure; not necessarily better or worse in function.

Vintage IWCs have really taken off which helps price support for modern IWCs.

That's a two way street. When interest in a company's modern watches rises, so does the interest in their vintage pieces.

[v76]

Vintage IWCs have really taken off which helps price support for modern IWCs.

One thing I can really appreciate about the vintage IWCs were that they were true engineering "gems" in an age when watches (mechanical, of course) were necessities. No fancy decoration or embellishment on the movements, just designed and built to close tolerances and very high engineering standards. Solidly designed and constructed movements for everyday use, encased in well-finished and elegant cases ... what more could one ask for? They were fairly expensive even back then, but not exorbitantly so.

True, the demand for vintage pieces is helping the current line pricing for IWC.

[dshap]

Great post Dennis! Thanks for taking the time to write this up, and I hope a Part 3 will follow.

:thanks

[scm64]

Great post Dennis! Thanks for taking the time to write this up, and I hope a Part 3 will follow.

:thanks

+1 most excellent.

[jermyzy]

Great informative post! I always thought Omega had in-house movements. When I first got into watches, I was also confused by all the movement numbers advertised by watch companies, which gave the impression they were all in-house movements when they were in fact re-badged movements.

However for me, in-house movement is only a small part in my watch purchase decisions. While I appreciate the history and and effort required to produce an in-house caliber, I'll admit, it's the features and aesthetics of a watch that weigh the most in my watch purchase decisions.

[h2xmark]

Excellent writeup, I really enjoyed this article, and im sure you know that Sellita has modified base eta movements for watch companys in the past,
to turn them into a high grade movement