37 IWC Special and Very Attractive, Porsche Design Titan, Automatic Chronograph Wristwatch, in Titanium, Reference 3700, With Box and Papers

Estimate: €5,000 –⁠ 10,000

Model: Porsche Design Chronograph
Reference: 3700
Case Material: Titanium
Bracelet Material: Titanium
Year: 1980’s
Movement: Automatic
Caliber: 790
Case N°: 2296394
Dimensions: 40 mm
Signed: Dial, movement and case
Accessories: Box and Papers

In 1868, American engineer and watchmaker Florentine Ariosto Jones who had been a director of E. Howard & Co, in Boston, then America’s leading watchmaking company, founded the International Watch Company with the intention of combining Swiss craftsmanship with the modern engineering technology from the U.S. to manufacture watch movements and other watch parts for the American market. In fact, after more than 100 years the first titanium chronograph ever created comes with some surprise as it was produced as a joint effort between IWC and Porsche Design. The Titan reference 3700 was a marvel of engineering when it was produced in the early 1980s, as titanium was still seen as exotic metal due to the cost of the material and its difficulty to work with: however, IWC came up with a way to manipulate the metal into a sleek wristwatch that represented the Porsche Design brand perfectly. The present watch is a fine self-winding with a water-resistant titanium tonneau-shaped case, hooded lugs and chronograph pushers. This lot is completed by day and date on a black dial with tritium-coated square indexes, three subsidiary dials for the seconds, the 12 hours and 30 minutes registers, an outer tachometer graduation, baton white hands and an articulated titanium IWC bracelet.