ReviewIWC Da Vinci Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph – The Renaissance Watch

Last year was the year of the Da Vinci collection for IWC Schaffhausen. With the return of the model in the classic round shape, popularised in the 80s, the Da Vinci was the toast of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) 2017. The models launched at the fair also catered to women, and were popularised by IWC brand friends, Sonam Kapoor and Kanika Kapoor, among others. However, the one that stood out for its rather complex offering, combining a flying tourbillon, with hacking mechanism, a chronograph and a retrograde date was the IWC Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph.

The Early Days Of The IWC Da Vinci

It was 1969 when the very first IWC Da Vinci, equipped with the first Swiss Quartz calibre ever developed, Beta 21 movement (frequency 8192Hz) was launched. This first edition – the Da Vinci Quartz Electronic – had a hexagonal case that later inspired tonneau-shaped cases. The number 21 refers to the number of brands and manufacturers involved in the development (including IWC) in creating the new Swiss Beta 21 calibre.

The series moved to a more industrially produced line in the 1970s under the SL name, still using the advanced versions of the Beta 21 calibre. Though there were cosmetic changes like larger case sizes or rounded angles, steel or precious metals for men or women, the Da Vinci collection continued with the hexagonal shape.

The next landmark for the Da Vinci line came in 1985 with the genius Kurt Klaus helping IWC create the Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar (Ref 3750). This was quite a statement in the field of mechanical watchmaking as the quartz revolution had virtually shut down the mighty Swiss mechanical watch industry in the early 80s. Launched during the times when IWC was a participant at the Basel watch fair, the watch combined a strong design and a complex perpetual calendar chronograph movement. At the end of the 1970s, Klaus had created the famous perpetual calendar module for IWC where all the settings could be adjusted by a single crown and could be affixed easily as an additional module on basically every movement. And in the case of the IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Chronograph, a perpetual calendar module was attached to a modified Valjoux 7750 movement, creating the calibre, IWC 79261.

To celebrate the 10th birthday of the automatic Da Vinci Chronograph, the Da Vinci came up in 1995 with a split-seconds chronograph, another key milestone for the brand. Finally, in 2007, IWC came up with the tonneau-shaped Da Vinci line. This included the Da Vinci Chronograph with the first in-house chronograph IWC movement and the Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Edition Kurt Klaus, named after the man who invented IWC’s perpetual calendar system.

A Closer Look At The IWC Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph

Among the novelties introduced last year at SIHH as the relaunched Da Vinci collection was the new IWC 89900 in-house movement housed in the Da Vinci Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph. It’s an automatic-winding flyback, column-wheel chronograph with vertical clutch. In addition, it also features a retrograde date indication and a tourbillon regulator.

IWC’s choice for this watch has been a one-minute flying tourbillon, without a tourbillon bridge on the upper side, being supported only by the base plate. The hacking second allows precision setting as the watch can be stopped and restarted at any specific point in time. When the crown is pulled out to set the time, two levers grip the balance rim like a clamp and block the mechanism. This is highly relevant for the accuracy of the tourbillon regulator.

The escape wheel is made of diamond-coated silicon that ensures a 68-hour power reserve for a frequency of 28,800vph. The hour and minute chronograph indications are off-centered at 12 o’clock while the central chronograph second hand reads the elapsed time precisely. The retrograde date display is located on the left-hand side of the dial.

The new calibre 89900 ensures a balanced combination of the three complications on the clean, silver dial with applied Arabic numerals. The elegant case comes in pink gold in round 44mm diameter. Another highlight of the watch is the brown alligator strap by Santoni, which sits on the wrist beautifully. The beautiful 89900 movement, with its pink gold rotor, can be seen through the transparent caseback.

The watch stands out for me for many reasons. First, it packs complications of a column-wheel flyback chronograph, retrograde date display and a one-minute flying tourbillon. Second, it is a well-proportioned good-looking watch in the market – well balanced with the chronograph counter and tourbillon at 12 and six o’clock respectively, as well as the retrograde date counter on the left and the IWC logo at three o’clock. And despite so much happening on the dial, it’s easy to read. This one’s a classy timepiece indeed, from the masters in Schaffhausen.

Explore the entire IWC Da Vinci collection here