IWC watch R810A Cal 8451B International Watch Co. Schaffhausen Vintage 1966

SPECIFICATION

Reference : IWC R810A
Movement : Calibre 8541B
Age : circa 1966
Case Size : 34.5mm
Case Thickness : 11mm
Lug to Lug : 40mm
Lugs : 18mm
Condition : used IWC watch
Box & Papers : No
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months Warranty

POINTS TO MENTION

• In great pre-owned condition, with light wear from use
• Fully serviced movement
• Case and bezel have light scratches and marks
• IWC signed crown
• Paired with an unworn blue leather strap

 THE WATCH

We have here a stunning IWC, model R810A, with a fantastic silver dial. Polished baton hour markers complement the polished sword style hour and minute hands and pull the whole design of the watch together. The crown has the fish logo on it, which was to signify that the watch was water resistant when it was produced, but as with all vintage watches we don't recommend getting them wet.

This watch is powered by the Automatic caliber 8541B, which has the Pellaton pawl winding system, it has a beat rate of 19,800 and 23 jewels, and sits in the round 34.5mm stainless steel case, the watch is paired with a blue leather strap.

A BIT OF TRIVA

An automatic watch keeps running only because of the movements of the wearer’s arm. For 60 years now, the power driving IWC’s automatic in-house movements has come from the pawl-winding system developed by Albert Pellaton and improved continuously ever since. In an automatic watch, the rotor converts kinetic energy into potential energy for the spring,

At IWC, the automatic system is inseparably linked with Albert Pellaton, he was appointed Technical Director to the Schaffhausen-based company in 1944 and made the development of an efficient automatic winding system his top priority. From a design point of view, the difficulty lay in converting the rotor’s bidirectional movements into a unidirectional winding motion that would put the mainspring under tension. Most systems back then either diverted the rotor’s movements to a complicated transmission or used only rotations in only one direction to wind the movement. This resulted in considerable power and energy loss.

Pellaton hit upon a surprising solution, instead of putting a ball bearing or cog at the centre of the rotor, he used a heart-shaped, eccentrically bearing-mounted disc. The latter converts the rotor’s revolutions into the to-and-fro movements of a rocking bar. The bar’s rocking movements are then transmitted to the winding wheel by two pawls: while one of them pulls the wheel (i.e. winds it), the other glides smoothly over the top of it until the roles are reversed. The mechanism patented in 1950 is unusually efficient. The rotor’s smallest movement in either direction is used to wind the mainspring

OUR THOUGHTS 

This IWC that we have in store represents a blend of classic design, mechanical innovation, and superior craftsmanship. It stands as a testament to IWC's ability to innovate while honoring traditional watchmaking values, making it a prized piece for aficionados and a reliable timekeeper for everyday wear.