Sports Chrono:
IWC 3705 Ceramic Fliegerchrono
Manufacturer: International Watch Company
Model: 3705
Name: Mechanical Flieger Chronograph
Caliber: Caliber 7912 (Base caliber Valjoux 7750)
Water Resistance: 60 M
Notes:
- Automatic winding, hacking movement
- Movement is 30mm, height of 8.9mm, 25 jewels, 28800 vph
- 39 mm case, height 14.6mm
- inner case made of antimagnetic soft iron
- Screw-in crown
- Convex sapphire glass secured against displacement by drop in air pressure
- Approximately 900-1200 of these manufactured in mid-90s
- This is the ceramic version of the 3706 stainless steel flieger still in
production today
- Ceramic case made of zirconium oxide (extremely durable, hardness greater
than steel) - said to be “..impervious to cuts, dents and scratches”.
- According to the IWC catalog (1993?) this high-tech ceramic allowed for
Stealth technology to be possible
- Caseback, crown and pushers in stainless steel.
- Introduced in 1993, production halted in 1997
- Rumoured that production stopped because the expenses of
manufacturing the case put IWC's retail margins out of line with cost. Another
possibility is that it didn't sell well, because many people thought the black
case made it look cheap, like a Casio. If this is the case, I think that the
market has changed significantly since then, with many manufacturers (De
Grisigono, Fortis, Kobold, Montblanc) using PVD to make their watches black. Unlike the
ceramic case, this only serves to make the watch black, without increasing the
durability of watch.
Also, people are accepting that quality watches can be made from non-exotic
metals. Audemars Piguet, Blancpain and Bvlgari have watches with cases partially
made from rubber components. Of course, Zirconium Oxide is probably a little
more exotic than even Gold!
Some of the most collectible watches today were unpopular in their own time. I
think that this may be one of them.
- With the sapphire crystal, zirconium oxide case, and the rugged Valjoux
7750 movement, I think this is makes the ultimate sports watch. No need to
worry about impact or scratches. You could consider the the “ultimate beater”.
- The only thing I wish I could change is adding an anti-reflective coating
to the crystal. In some lighting situations, the watch can be hard to read
because of that.
- List of references for this information.
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