Important DaVinci: Hexagonal Quartz pre Ingenieur
IWC DaVinci: Jumbo Hexagonal Quartz, Pre-Ingenieur & Bork-Dial
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WHY WE LOVE IT: When IWC saw the future in quartz and shaped the DaVinci like a hexagonal quartz-crystal and connected it to the same bracelet later used for the Jumbo Ingenieur -- and used the same movement, as well.
Rare & important IWC from the mid 1970s: The 2nd DaVinci in the significant series by the watchmaker from Schaffhausen, Switzerland -- following the genetic related pioneer, the hexagonal (quartz-crystal-shaped) IWC Beta21 DaVinci, with a lot of similarities and many differences between both rare icons:
- while the Beta21 introduced quartz to the Swiss market at all, the cal2405 is a solid stepping-motor driven 32kHz quartz movement;
- while the Beta21 was made of 18K white- or yellowgold, the 2nd DaVinci is IWCs 1st Luxury Sportwatch made of stainless steel
Trendsetting and hexagonal quartz-crystal-shaped nevertheless: This watch was equipped already with the same bracelet that was used for the Genta-designed IWC Jumbo Ingenieur 2 years later -- and one can argue this watch was already designed by Gerald Genta two years after his coup for AP with the Royal Oak and two years before he landed a similar iconic success at IWC with the unmistakable Jumbo Ingenieur. The harmonic integrated bracelet and overall sporty but luxurious appearance of this steel-watch with a lavish anthracite dial from an era when this was unusual and something special, make it highly likely.
The condition of the watch case is good although it was pretty sure polished and the bracelet -- next to the inaccuracies from early CNC products -- has some stretch. The glass and dial are in well preserved condition, as is the precise and reliable working cal2405 movement -- by the way the same IWC quartz-movement that was used in the Jumbo Ingenieur designed by Genta as well.