IWC - Kurt Klaus shows his Top 3 in horology
WORLDTEMPUS - 9th Dec. 2009
Interview realised by
Still involved in IWC despite his age of 74, the watchmaker Kurt Klaus travels the world as an ambassador for the Schaffhausen watch brand. On December 3rd, the conceptor of the legendary Da Vinci from 1985 paid a visit to Copenhagen to host a so-called Master Class. Master Class events invites a few private collectors to work with actual movements under the supervision of the old watchmaker as well as getting an insight of what goes on in Schaffhausen. This kind of horological event is popular in Scandinavia and the Benelux countries especially.
Kristian Haagen: Which current IWC watch is your favorite?
Kurt Klaus: "I am wearing my favorite IWC right now - red: showing off his steel Da Vinci with his own face engraved on the caseback. The movement inside is the most important movement I have ever created and was the first big thing for IWC in midst of the quartz crisis. It was a big success for IWC - and hence a new start for the company back then in terms of mechanical novelty."
Does Mr. Kern always embrace your thoughts?
"Another favorite is the Portuguese Tourbillon Mystere. I was working hard on this particular model as the designer Gerd Plange wanted to place the power reserve indicator at a position that interfered with the tourbillon parts. However the first problem occurred when showing the drawings to IWC CEO Georges Kern as he did not want a tourbillon watch in the collection. One day, though, he told me that he realized the Portuguese Mystere would make a great watch. We actually tested a prototype of the Portuguese Tourbillon Mystere on a pro golf player. He wore it during a two-week tournament and it worked without any problems, both during and after the games!"A tourbillon is a tourbillon. But the design of the watch is just wonderful and a fantastic collaboration between the designer, Gerd Blange, and myself."
Do you miss a certain model in the current collection?
"I really love the first Portuguese Perpetual. The two moons are striking and fascination. This watch was the first perpetual showing the moonphase on both hemispheres. Once again a novel idea of Gerd Blange. Personally I thought of a single moonphase, but Blange wanted something out of the ordinary, something novel. However, some collectors did not appreciate the double moonphase, hence the introduction of the 42-millimeter Portuguese Perpetual with a single moonphase."
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