The weather was still fabulous and we had a great time. The water flowing around Schlössli Wörth was full with fish and when I asked Peter if these were for consumption too, he told me that they were very hard to eat because of their skeleton.
At Schlössli Wörth, three tables for six were already prepared and we had a magnificent view of the Rhine Falls while we enjoyed a very good meal and great conversations. Everybody was impressed so far and we were only half way!
A view from the Rhine Falls:
After dinner, another surprise was awaiting us: we went with a motorboat to the rock in the center of the Rhine Falls.
There, we could climb the stairs and literally stand in the middle of the Rhine with the water falling down on both sides. A magnificent view, although we found out that one of our members was afraid of heights and she had to be given a hand to get back down. I don't think she will remember this for quite some time!
While we were waiting for the next boat to pick us up, we noticed small salmons that were trying to swim upstream! It was funny to see a 20 cm fish trying to swim up the Falls. I don't know of any of them manage but they did a lot better than what I would have been able to do.
Standing in the middle of all that water, we made some jokes about two members of our group, both proud owners of the 2006 Aquatimer Cousteau Chronograph (with the wood inlay on the back), that they should really test their watches by taking a dive. Needless to say that both preferred to remain dry.
After the boat trip, we went back to IWC to continue our visit. Our next stop was the laboratory, where Matthias Oppold, head of the laboratory, showed us around. Here, just as in the factory, it was not allowed to take pictures. In this case, I think it was to save the stomach of watch-lovers because the things they do to watches, movements, cases and straps is pure horror! They have a hammer to hit the watches with a force of 5000 G. They do this on the side of the case but also on the crystal! There is also a device to test the straps and their attachment to the case by lifting the watch with a heavy weight on the other side of the strap. There is a saline solution, constantly oxigenated in which the stainless steel is tested for corrosion resistance. There are strong electromagnets to test the anti-magnetic properties of the watches. The electromagnet used to test the watches with the soft iron inner case is so powerfull that it has to be water cooled to avoid overheating! Speaking of heat, there are also stoves used to heat up or cool down watches and in them, the humidity can also be regulated to simulate prolonged stays in tropical regions.
To test the functioning of chronographs and the screw-in mechanism of the crown, a special device has been built that can repeat the use of these elements endlessly. This process is controlled by a videocamera with image-detection so anomalies can be automatically detected during a test run. This way, more accurate information is available to the laboraty crew.
One of the important roles of the test team is to detect problems on prototypes in an early stage. This way, the production process can be modified, after which the testing will prove if the problem is solved. This guarantees high-quality watches from the start of the production runs. To detect even the smallest problems, the laboratory has a strong microscope and sometimes they also use an electron microscope to study even the smallest parts or problems.
After this very interesting visit to the laboratory, we visited the IWC watchmaking school, the domain of Walter Baumann, where young watchmakers are being educated. Mr. Baumann is, like all other people we have met, very passionate about his job and his enthousiasm is really showing when he speaks about IWC and his job. Several large scale models of IWC mechanisms, like the Perpetual Calender or the Pellaton winding system can be found here. IWC is taking the education very serious and it is only after four years of study that the watchmakers graduate. By then, they are all round watchmakers, capable of a lot of skills. I imagine, that some special skills have to be learned afterward, like assembling a Tourbillon Mistère.
Speaking of this magical piece, our next stop was the Watchmaking department where we were allowed to enter in the same room as where the watchmakers were working. On the first workbench, we saw a watchmaker who was wearing the famous Tourbillon Mistère and our guide Peter told us that he was called Monsieur Tourbillon. He is one of the few watchmakers that can assemble these masterpieces.
Peter also told us that the more complicated models are built from the ground up by one watchmaker. The more standard models, are built by several watchmakers who install one or several sub-assemblies and pass the movement on to the next.
Before my visit to IWC, I have been thinking about following a watchmaking class just for fun but when I saw how tiny some parts are, it gave me a headache so I will leave this great art to the professionals.
The Watchmaking department was the last part of the factory visit and with our heads still spinning, we went back to the reception room.
Part four, Back to the reception room to try out the watches.