Horological Meandering

bernard cheong
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IWC hammer testing and prototyping the Caliber 5000(the big movt you have) in 1997/8

In theyears when the budgets at the factory went into producing the caliber 5000 series which you now see in your stores.

And I really love this movement for its absolute pursuit of creating a large diameter rotor..into a single barrel...but that's for another story..

One can see the fervour into which the homologation department, a one man show run by Opald...and the team's work with Ranaud and Papi, and Carol Foreistier (way back in 1997), to create a rotor and a suspension system that can take a "reasonable" amount of shock.

Don't forget that the rotor is huge, and the leverage exerted onto the pinion is awesome enough to rip it off the plate.

Hence, you see here, a development, in house, circa 1997, when the suspension arm took on its shape...from a modest solid curve, to a cut and slim curved arm..like a tonearm of an LP player.

Note the silastic insert into the solid gold rim of the weight...this detail is to silence the very slight knock of the rotor against the plates..huge torsional forces make the rotor wobble..microscopically...but attention to detail at IWC in those years were focused to an extreme level to technical excellence.

Enjoy...

The evolution of the arm that holds the rotor took many months of testing by Opald in the basement of the old factory in 1997.

In house shock testing allowed and continues to allow very fine modifications of rotor suspension in this case, and probably in other new designs, very quickly. Discussions can be had immediately after the hammer tests, on the spot, and small changes to the suspension were made...cutting the arm and thining it down.

It just cannot be an exact science..well..at least NOT with the software available in 1997.

Today..a CAD and a simulated design can be done.

However, a caveat...it cannot totall simulate the effect of the lubricants and the effect of assembly (tightness of parts) etc..too many variables.

So..in house tests like these are invaluable if one attempts a REAL new movement like this one, and not a derivative of an existing old one.

See the cut made in the arm?

It allows the arm to "twist" an d bend minutely..very slightly.

Spreading the G forces outwards.

So then..by 1999, an arm that supported the spindle was born!

This allowed the huge rotor to wobble along a new axis, absorbing over 50% of the G forrces that would have ripped the spindle off.

I admired this elegant and simple solution at IWC with Opald in the homologation room, and a team of men..like Denis Zimmerman and his tireless work at the computer with circa 1997 software..solved the problems, and a big rotor was born.

No use of strange metals or alloys needed.

A pure engineering challenge, solved with ingineuity...and on time to release the watch in 2000..no delays...all 2000 pieces.

Look at the detal of the rotor's evolution from 1997 to 1999...

The rare allowances to cosmetics..an engraved rotor.

And the famous gold disc!

Now...to add in a small silastic insert.

At first, there was none. But Gunther Blumlein wore the thing, and didn't like the small and slight "clack" and "clackity" sound, as the rotor wound itself...and so..it was brought back to the homologation lab...and the source of the sound discovered.

And solved.

It is NOT a cheap plastic part! In those days...Blumlein would NOT hear of this..it is a medical grade silastic part. Later..more pics on how parts AGE..even this is tested at IWC..inhouse.

Of course, here you see the work then in 1998, the final rotor is what you get in the stores today.

I look upon the iWC Cal 5 series as a 12 cylinder engine. Big. Tough. Strong.

It may not be "refined" as in an artistic sense...and I wish that more customers would buy the watch as a connoisseur and not as a consumer.

It has great potential to grow as a true movement for big watches, no nonsense, and pure. No gimmicks.

I own and wear both the MBF1 and the Antiqua side by side with this IWC...yes..I may have to wear the watch around another cylindrical part of my body...chuckles. What I eman is that...I am not too biased, I hope, for or against plain simple work..I love the roundabout work of many watch makers too.

Some, it is art. At IWC, it was all very focused on engineering to the extreme ..with an exclusion of art, if it meant compromise to any detail in the movement, and so it was with this calibre.

These here are prototypes ....all tough and tested and even broken.

I promise, if you want, I will post more.

These pictures are copyrighted here at this site, and yes..you won't see any pictures of such detail or history...they're gone!

Here finally, in 2000 is my watch at the far right, in RG next to the final prototype in steel ...see the differences?

Even if you look at your own watch, if it is a cal 5000 or 50011 or whatever 5 series..you will see it is different from mine.

Yours is BETTER. IWC continues to improve on its products...usually in the quiet.

Hmmm...

 I don't know if you guys want to see and read all this stuff...if you do..respond to say yes, and I will continue to bring in more details.

Including, if you wish, my visits to many of the sub contractors that do the owrk for IWC and Richard Mille.

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