Manufacture
India Whiskey Charlie shares IWC Schaffhausen's tribute to Kurt Klaus on his 90th birthday, celebrating his profound impact on watchmaking. This post highlights Klaus's pivotal role in developing the legendary perpetual calendar and numerous other innovations that propelled IWC to the forefront of the industry.
Schaffhausen, 26th October 2024: IWC Schaffhausen congratulates Kurt Klaus on his 90th birthday. Although Kurt Klaus is best known for the perpetual calendar that he developed in the 1980s, he contributed to many other innovations throughout his more than four decades at IWC. Even after retiring, Kurt Klaus continued to travel the world, teach watchmaking classes, and speak publicly about his inventions and passion for watchmaking.
Born in 1934 in St. Gallen in Eastern Switzerland, Kurt Klaus began his career at IWC Schaffhausen in 1957 as a watchmaker in the Service department. Between 1970 and 1999, he worked on the development, construction and prototype building for new movements. It was during that time that he designed his now-legendary perpetual calendar.
PROPELLING IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN TO THE FOREFRONT OF WATCHMAKING
In
the 1970s, when the Swiss watch industry was greatly impacted by quartz
technology and many people doubted the future of mechanical watches,
Kurt Klaus was assigned to develop complications for pocket watches.
Encouraged by the success of his first annual calendar, he started to
bring to life his vision of a perpetual calendar for a wristwatch. His
creation debuted at the Basel watch fair in 1985 with the Da Vinci
Perpetual Calendar Chronograph, Reference 3750. The calendar consisted
of only 81 cleverly arranged parts, and all its displays could be
advanced simply by turning the crown, a first in the industry. In
addition to recognising the different lengths of the months, the
mechanical program automatically inserted a leap day every four years,
thus working without any manual adjustments until the year 2100. No one
had ever built a perpetual calendar that was so ingeniously simple in
its design, easy to operate, uncompromising in quality and efficient to
assemble.
Over the years, Kurt Klaus continued to develop and refine his calendar. For example, he oversaw the integration of the calendar module into a movement from the 50000 calibre family. This effort culminated in the launch of the first Portugieser Perpetual Calendar (Ref. IW5021) in 2003 with an enhanced moon phase accuracy of 577.5 years. Kurt Klaus also played a pivotal role in designing IWC’s first perpetual calendar with digital displays for the date and the month, the Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month (Ref. IW3761), which was introduced in 2009.
MANY INNOVATIONS FROM IWC BEAR KURT KLAUS’ SIGNATURE
Although his name is usually mentioned in the same breath as the perpetual calendar, many other IWC innovations would never have seen the light without Kurt Klaus. Among other things, he was involved in developing several new in-house movements, the split-seconds mechanism, the world time module and the mechanical depth gauge for divers’ watches. Also, the development of the Il Destriero Scafusia in 1993, which was the most complicated wristwatch in the world at the time, would not have been possible without contributions from the talented watchmaker and engineer.
A CULT FIGURE IN THE WATCH INDUSTRY
After
officially retiring in 1999, as now the Former Head of Development and
Construction, Kurt Klaus continued to work on new movements, assist his
former colleagues in Schaffhausen and support the next generations of
IWC watchmakers. In addition to being a regular guest at important
industry events like Watches and Wonders, he travelled the world
extensively, giving speeches and technical presentations worldwide.
The humble and humorous Swiss continues to enjoy cult status among watch lovers in many countries around the world. In 2022, he made his debut on social media in a funny IWC campaign called “A SMART WATCH – AND A HALF” . Several short clips showed IWC’s legendary watchmaker entering a smartwatch store. In typical Kurt Klaus fashion, he witfully exposed the weaknesses of electronic gadgets in comparison to mechanical watches that are engineered to last for generations.
The IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Chronograph, Reference 3750, represents a landmark achievement in modern horology, introducing a highly integrated and user-friendly perpetual calendar complication to a wristwatch. It was a cornerstone of IWC's offerings in the mid-1980s, showcasing the brand's technical prowess during a challenging period for mechanical watchmaking.
The timepiece features a round case, typically crafted from stainless steel, housing an automatic movement. The perpetual calendar module, designed by Kurt Klaus, is notable for its mechanical simplicity, comprising only 81 parts, and its innovative crown-operated adjustment for all calendar displays. This mechanism automatically accounts for varying month lengths and leap years until 2100, requiring no manual correction.
For collectors, the Reference 3750 is significant as the debut model for Kurt Klaus's legendary perpetual calendar. It embodies a period of innovation at IWC and remains a highly regarded example of a practical and ingeniously engineered grand complication, celebrated for its historical importance and operational elegance.
Had the honor to meet him during a November 2000 GTG at Alpha Omega. Brilliant man imho
OMG!!!!!! 🙏🙏🙏
And he represents the best of IWC. I am very thankful, blessed and lucky to 1. have owned and 2. still own a representative of his creations. Happy birthday, Mr. Klaus!
This thread is active on the IWC forum with 5 replies. Share your knowledge with fellow collectors.
Join the Discussion →
