Lot Essay
The present watch is one of very few examples of a wristwatch fitted with a cloisonné enamel dial from IWC.
Wristwatches with cloisonné dials have always held a powerful attraction for buyers and collectors for many reasons, their beauty and highly coloured richness created in the furnace is preserved with unchanging permanence over the years. The production of such dials is extremely costly as they have to be individually artisan made, the outline of the desired motif is achieved by arranging thin gold wires on the dial plate. These partitions were then filled with small quantities of enamel powder in the desired colours. The dial is then fired in a furnace at around 1000 degrees Celsius causing the powder to melt into glass. Finally, it is hand-polished until a perfectly flat surface is obtained.
Wristwatches with cloisonné dials have always held a powerful attraction for buyers and collectors for many reasons, their beauty and highly coloured richness created in the furnace is preserved with unchanging permanence over the years. The production of such dials is extremely costly as they have to be individually artisan made, the outline of the desired motif is achieved by arranging thin gold wires on the dial plate. These partitions were then filled with small quantities of enamel powder in the desired colours. The dial is then fired in a furnace at around 1000 degrees Celsius causing the powder to melt into glass. Finally, it is hand-polished until a perfectly flat surface is obtained.