Yours in Perpetuity - Kurt Klaus
A complication that is extremely difficult and time consuming to make is the Perpetual Calendar.
In simple terms – it is a watch that is designed to take into account the varying number of days in each month. It also adjusts for the extra day in the month of February in leap years.
Some perpetual calendars are built to keep going till the end of this century, while others, rarer still, need no correction till the year 2400.
The Perpetual Calendar complication was invented by Thomas Mudge in 1775 for a pocket watch. Patek Philippe and Breguet were the first to include this complication in their wrist watches in the early 1900s.
The Patek Phillippe 97975 and the Breguet Perpetual Calendar wrist watches.
The reason I decided to feature the Kurt Klaus Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar is because this modern day watch is inspired by yet another series of firsts, from the brand IWC and the legendary watch maker, Kurt Klaus himself.
The two names are synonymous as they have had a successful relationship spanning 55 years. Kurt Klaus was employed as an assistant straight out of watch making school by Albert Pellaton who headed IWC at the time.
Albert Pellaton and his first movement, the 89 Calibre
Many years later, in a response to the during quartz watch crisis, the then Sales Director of IWC, Hannes Pantli asked Kurt Klaus to move from making pocket watches to building complicated, mechanical wrist watches.
Kurt Klaus set out to build a perpetual calendar watch, but with a slight difference, as he was uninspired by the manner in which other watchmakers had executed this complication. He wanted to build something unique.
To be great is not enough, you have to be the first to be great, and that’s exactly what he did. The pioneer and master technician that he was, he developed the first timepiece that had both a perpetual calendar as well as a chronograph.
This timepiece was unique in that its day, date, month, year and time displays were all adjustable through the crown alone. This eliminated multiple pushers on the sides or underside of the dial.
The 1985 Perpetual Calendar Chronograph along with Da Vinci sketches of the harbor fort at Piombino as inspiration for the design.
The launch of the very first IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar was at Baselworld Watch Fair. Five hundred of these watches were sold far quicker than IWC or Kurt Klaus expected.
Traditional watch collectors appreciated his work so much that IWC regained ground lost in the 1970s, when the watchmaker experienced losses in terms of both production power and employees.
Years later, in 2007, IWC CEO Georges Kern unveiled a limited edition of fifty platinum timepieces based on the mechanism of the original watch of 1985.
Honouring the watch maker behind its creation, IWC called it the Kurt Klaus Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar with his portrait engraved on the back of the watch.
A total of five hundred pieces were made in yellow gold, fifty in platinum and fifty in white gold. The demand for the timepiece was so high that IWC decided to make another three thousand in stainless steel.
Ironically, the 2007 model was not circular like the original from 1985, but instead was tonneau shaped – partially inspired by the hexagonal shape of the brand’s first quartz watch from 1969.
1969 Tonneau shaped quartz watch, ironically becoming the inspiration behind the Kurt Klaus Da Vinci watch.
There are influential men whose revolutionary ideas have changed the course of history and the route that industries have taken. They have not only set and practiced the highest standards of excellence themselves but have had the generosity and foresight to pass their skills on to the next generation. This is where I find inspiration in Kurt Klaus. Retired and over eighty, he still travels around the world to educate watch makers, sharing his knowledge and experience. He is excited by the advent of technology like CAD (Computer Aided Design), welcoming the transition from hand sketching watch movements to computer generated blueprints.
It is rare to see someone so celebrated at his craft, remain humble and eager to adapt and change with the times.
Kurt Klaus is one such man, and you see it in his work with the 1985 Perpetual Calendar as well as several other offerings from IWC that he has helped create such as the Pilot’s watch, the Ingenieur and of course, the Da Vinci.
The stellar line up of IWC’s range of timepieces featuring the Pilot, Portofino, Portugieser, Ingenieur and Da Vinci models.
In conclusion, Hannes Pantli, Sales Director of IWC had this to say, “It is impossible to overestimate the contribution Kurt Klaus has made towards the survival of the mechanical watch and to IWC. He perfectly combines his visionary gift and firm belief in the future of watchmaking with a natural human warmth and affability. It has always been a great pleasure to work with him.”
Remembered and treasured in perpetuity, men such as Kurt Klaus leave indelible footprints in the ever-shifting sands of time.
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