Watchmaking, A History

Throughout the years, watch dials have been made in a vast variety of formats, measuring time in creative and alternative ways. These configurations have cyclically flourished and become dormant over time, depending on need, fashion or trends. However, they have never fully disappeared, thanks to dedicated connoisseurs. Many have been rediscovered in the modern era.

One of these, the regulator dial, is a form of timekeeping that has its secure place in horological history, dating back to a time when high precision clocks became necessary instruments at the dawn of the Age of Enlightenment.

In its most essential format, the regulator dial has a subsidiary hour hand, a subsidiary seconds hand and a central minutes hand. The emphasis on the dial is in reading the minutes. The English long-case regulator clocks from which these dials originated from were used as high-precision clocks in laboratories and observatories in the early 1700s, and watchmakers’ used them to set the time for their new creations.

Although regulator style dials were rarely used in pocket watches, there are some examples of pair-cased English pocket watches with regulator-style dials that date back to the 1760s. To better follow the motion mechanisms used by watches, these pocket watches usually inverted the sub-dials with the hours at 12 o’clock and the seconds at 6 o’clock, unlike their regulator clock counterparts.

A New Twist On An Old Design

IWC revives the tradition of these high-precision timepieces with the Portuguese Regulateur Tourbilion, which combines two horological feats into one elegant timepiece. IWC is able to make only 100 of each in white or rose gold and platinum beause of the effort and time required to make these watches. The Caliber 98245 pocket watch movement, which has been in continuous development for the past seventy years, is housed in the refined case measuring 43 mm. For a more accurate reading, the three separate time displays are dominated by a slim, central minute hand. The hours and seconds sub-dials sit at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock, respectively, representing the essential form of the regulator clock.

By adding another horological feature that complements the regulator dial in the form of a tourbilion, IWC takes its historical reference a step further. The tourbilion was designed to counteract the earth’s gravitational pull on a pocket watch over 200 years ago.

Although watches are now worn on the wrist and the tourbillon is no longer a necessity, collectors aren’t deterred from enjoying this feature, which is so complicated that only master watchmakers can deliver them. Of particular note in the tourbillon in this timepiece is the “floating” mechanism IWC developed, where it is mounted with bearings on one side, allowing the wearer an unobstructed view of the escapement. The escapement was made smaller than the Portuguese Mystere’s tourbillon when it was redesigned to adapt to the dimentions of the two sub-dials. The tourbillon occupies the position at 9 o’clock, complementing the sub-dials, giving the regulator dial an asymmetrical, modern design.

There are three color variations for the dial: both the platinum and rose gold versions carry a silver-plated dial, while a slate-gray ardoise is featured on the white gold case. This manually wound watch has a power reserve of 52 hours and the balance frequency has been increased from 18,000 to 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz.). It is also IWC’s fastest running pocket watch movement ever with the balance oscillating eight times per second in its rotating cage.

Seeing the nickel-plated movement through the caseback made of sapphire will also delight the wearer. The IWC motto (“Probus Scafusia”, which means “good, solid craftsmanship from Schaffhausen”) on the IWC Replica Watch seal is also carried by the large sweeping tourbillon bride as a small gold medallion.

This new IWC watch has transcended time to become one of man’s most desirable objects today, while hailing the past with its regulator dial and tourbillon. You can find the best designer inspired replica IWC for the man in your life at www.timetraditions.com.