Recently I have taken an interest in neo-vintage IWC pieces. Beginning with collaborations alongside Porsche design culminating to this Aquatimer 2000, this era marks a stage of IWC that was true to its utilitarian roots and design language. Furthermore, IWCs from this era are relatively affordable and incredibly well made.
The IWC Aquatimer 3536 came in several variants, and this example is the -1, made in titanium with a black dial. It can be seen as a direct successor to the Porsche Design Ocean 2000, one of the IWC grails today. Being made of titanium is only weighs 120 grams, despite its muscular 42mm size.
The titanium used is a very high-quality variant that has been sandblasted and hardened to 2400 Vickers, making it nearly scratchproof. It’s depth rated to 2000 meters which is more than a Rolex Sea-Dweller- let that sink in!
Aesthetically this is a true no-nonsense tool watch, with a matte black dial and luminous indexes and hands. Interestingly, IWC used a mixture of tritium and Luminova for the luminous material and a nice quirk of this reference is the yellow 12 o’clock marker.
This Aquatimer is, in my opinion, amazing value for the money. What you get is an attractive tool watch that both looks and acts the part.
