Ever since I got trapped into admiring and buying watches, I've always have a soft spot for IWC...I cant put it in words, but I am very much intrigued by many of their offerings....the Pilot, Portuguese, Aquatimer, Maybe wearing a watch bearing the name `Schaffhausen' makes me feel very important...especially when I pronounce it..
The name International Watch Company may sound amateurish as compared to those exquisite multi-syllables brand names out there, but S-chaff-hausen can certainly stand on its own...
Ok, back to my story...
Despite my liking for IWC watches, the seduction of a Rolex and later a Panerai were much stronger. At one point, I kind of accepted the fact that an IWC will not land in my stable. But then, these habits continued..
-browsing all the IWC threads and peeking at those `Which IWC you wearing' wrist shots ...
-downloading IWC's free periodical magazine on my Ipad (to those who does not own an IWC, please DO THIS at your own peril)
-focusing on Bruce Willis wrist in Red and the part where John Cusack offered his watch to the owner of a plane in 2012
these are bad bad habits...
And then there are these MWF friends I have ...(you know who you are..hehe). One will continuously remind you IWC is good. Another will then whatsapp you killer pics and cool historical facts to weaken you. And some will even go to the extend of helping you to nego a good price in their local AD....
In short, i didnt stand a chance....
Well, to make the story shorter, I've always feel that IWC is pilot.... My wrist cant carry the legendary Big Pilot and even if that's possible, my bank account wont allow it (such a good combination..hehe). In the end, I short listed to a Mark 16, the very popular 3717 chrono and ....yes a 17. It was difficult to make up my mind. Browsing threads after threads did not help much. All 3 models have their good...and shortcomings (doesnt every watch tells the same story?)
Surprisingly, the Mark 17, which started at the lowest rank, slowly pulled ahead of the tried and trusted MArk 16 and even popular Chrono 3717.....The more I look at the Mk 17, the more I was attracted to it. And when someone I trusted told me that the finishing of the new IWC pilots is visibly a notch higher than the previous models, I decided that 17 is my lucky number. With the help of a good buddy, I managed to acquire one, just before the recent price hike.
To be honest, I almost canceled the purchase few days before pulling the trigger. Reason? Well, if you browse enough of those IWC thread, you'll find that ever since the first pictures of the Mark 17 made it way to the cyber world, many IWC pilot fans young and old were upset with it. The offensive 3 dates altimeter display, the childish red triangle....these 2 newly introduced features are enough to make any purist or historian cried out `desecration!' I was worried that I will regret this buy, and if that happens, finding someone to sell to will be tricky.
Thankfully, after almost 2 months of wearing it, I think its a keeper (ok, ok, this statement cannot be trusted among us). The finishing is gorgeous. Winding is smooth. Accuracy so far is spot on. And legibility is just superb, like how pilot watches should be. And yes, strangely, sometimes, the 3 dates display is rather useful. As long as this watch is in rotation, I seldom ask `What date is tomorrow?
'. Maybe its because I have a few `dateless' watches and the multiple date display of the 17 sort of balance everything.
And yes, I confess. I never failed to look at the word Schaffhausen from time to time...
Wearing this after several days of a heavier diver watch or an attention seeking bracelet piece is blissful. It goes well when you wear it for meeting with people who are 10 times more important than you and it also matches a pair of jeans in on a lazy Sunday.
Am not a techno person when it comes to watches, but I do know that it is a heavily modified ETA, and its stubbornly known as the automatic 30110 caliber in IWC-propaganda write ups. Internet research reveals that IWC purchase the components, with the assembling done totally by the folks at Schaffhausen. In fact, some major components such as mainspring and barrel are reportedly from IWC. Well, I am not going to open up the casing and do an anatomical verification, so wont dwell further on the argument if this is EA, heavily modified ETA (which is still an ETA) or whatever...
In summary, the Mark 17 Its not a high flyer in comparison with the more illustrious Big Pilots, Top Guns, double chronos, Spitfires out there. However, the timeless styling of the Flieger-styled dial combined with IWC's watchmaking pedigree have ensured that the Mark pilot series holds the blueprint for the design and birth of its more prestigious brothers and cousins. IWC put it rightly . The Mark pilots remains quite simply, the measure of all things.
Showing some wrist shots here...
An eviiiiil poster...I know, its not a 17 but you get the picture..
for nice macro pics and easy-to understand technical details, check out Hanz's review
http://watchionable.blogspot.com/2013/04/iwc-mark-xvii-ref-3265-01.html 
