93 IWC Attractive and Special, Yacht Club II, Automatic Wristwatch in Yellow Gold, Diamond-set dial and Bezel, With Extract from the Archives, Reference 9119
Estimate: €15,000 – 30,000
Sold (Premium)€16,900
Model: Yacht Club II
Reference: 9119
Case Material: Yellow Gold
Bracelet Material: Yellow Gold
Year: 1978
Movement: Automatic
Caliber: 3254
Case N°: 2 241 997
Dimensions: 38 mm
Signed: Dial, Case and Movement
Accessories: Extract from the Archives
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. Moreover during the 1970s IWC asked for the collaboration of an important watch designer of that time: Gerald Genta. Genta, of course, is one of the most legendary watch designers, whose distinctive style was found in many 1970s Swiss watches and in many ways was emblematic of that era. Gerald Genta designed his own iteration of the IWC Yacht Club, along with the infamous SL series for IWC. The IWC Ingeniuer SL was the most famous of the SL series, as it was part of the famous “Jumbo” wristwatches of the day, alongside the Patek Philippe Nautilus and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak that Gerald Genta designed. You can see that Genta used a variety of basic forms in these designs: octagonal for the Royal Oak, square for the Nautilus, and round for the Ingenieur. Produced in the second half of the 1970s, precisely in 1978, the IWC Yacht Club II ref. 9119 such as the present watch is very rare to find since very few specimens appeared on the market. This specific example is in exceptional conditions with sharp angles: made fully in yellow gold, has screwed back case and solid gold bracelet. The dial is black with double diamond set hour indexes that match perfectly the unusual diamond-set bezel, in perfect conditions with open window for the date at 3 o’clock. This very rare watch is completed by its Extract from the Archives confirming material, movement and the production in 1978.