Home » The Salon International De La Haute Horlogerie » SIHH 2017 Review – IWC Da Vinci Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph Watch
In 2017, IWC is revamping its Da Vinci family including a return to the original round case which popularized this line back in the 1980s. The flagship model for the redesigned collection is the Da Vinci Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph Watch which combines a flying tourbillon with hacking mechanism, a chronograph and a retrograde date.
In order to unite these three complications for the very first time, IWC redesigned its caliber 89900. As you can see, a fully fledged tourbillon was integrated to replace the small seconds counter at the 6 o’clock position. The manufacturer’s designers set the tourbillon cage on the original fourth wheel whilst the small seconds sub-dial was moved into a central seconds. The flying tourbillon makes a full rotation every minute, thus meaning the tourbillon bridge can also function as a seconds hand.
The hour and minute chronograph indications stay on the top of the dial at the 12 o’clock position. The chronograph with a flyback function can record elapsed-time intervals up to 11 hours and 59 minutes. Furthermore, the central chronograph seconds hand can measure stopped times with great accuracy up to 1/4-second. The chronograph can be set via two golden push-pieces set on either side of the crown. There is also a retrograde date indication which describes a gentle arc on the left-hand side of the dial. The date hand automatically jumps back to 1 after the 31st of the month.
The pallet and escape wheel are crafted from diamond-coated silicon which provides a decent 68 hours of power reserve when fully charged. This quite hard material has a good sliding properties that reduce friction. It operates at the rapid frequency of 28,800 alternations per hour (4 Hz).
IWC Da Vinci Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph with the reference number IW393101 is styled and sized to make a great impression on potential customers. The 18-carat red gold case measures 44mm in diameter and 17mm in thickness. Its elegant case is shielded with sapphire crystals and constructed to provide water resistance up to 30 meters (100 feet).
From the front side there is an arched sapphire glass with antireflective coating on both sides, while form the rear there is a transparent sapphire-glass back which offers a look at the impeccable IWC-manufactured caliber with its solid red gold rotor.
The new Da Vinci Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph comes with the movable horns which ensure that the Santoni alligator leather strap fits perfectly on the wrist. The dark brown leather strap is secured with a red gold folding clasp. The watch comes with the retail price of $103,000.
