My Very First IWC: Titanium GST Chrono

[lhooq]

I was certain the plain black Ingenieur was going to be my first IWC rep. But at the last moment, I decided on getting the IWC that had first grabbed my attention in a watch shop some time ago: The GST.

The 3707 doesn't get discussed much on the forums these days, but it's still a fantastic rep. I ordered this one from Watch International. (Great dealer, by the way.)

I'm very happy with the watch -particularly the titanium case and bracelet- but there are some problem areas I've identified. I'd love to hear any advice on possible fixes:

1. Misaligned bezel. Is it a straightforward matter to open up the case and rotate the internal bezel a tiny bit counterclockwise? Does the crystal have to come off?

2. Lume-less hands. I thought this was a problem with my specific watch, but apparently other Ti GST owners have noted this in the past. Do I send them off to a pro for a relume?

3. Wrong datefont. According to the dealer, this datewheel is all that's available from the factories. I've ordered a proper ETA wheel.

4. Misaligned day. This is the first watch I've owned that has a day/date display. If the day is tilted, do I blame the dial or the day disc?

5. Crooked indices. I'm guessing there's not much I can do about these, short of buying a genuine dial. Any suppliers out there, or do I trawl eBay for one?

Any tips or modding ideas would be much appreciated. I'm a beginner at the IWC rep game.

[dovo1695]

Congrats on a truly beautiful watch! The GST doesn't get much airtime and I've always wondered why. I guess it's because there's been so many amazing IWC reps in the last few years. IMHO the GST belongs among the best of them. Truly a gorgeous and unique watch! Enjoy.

-Dovo

[lanikai]

At one time it was one of the faves here.. and still is a good one to have in any collection.. imo. classy looking piece..

All your woes can be fixed..

misaligned bezel can be straightened

crooked markers too

relume

sometimes replacing the dw with the eta will take care of the problem.. or the ultimate swap an eta 7750

[ubiquitous]

The GST was the first of the great IWC reps to come around, in my humble opinion. These were the trail blazers and as an IWC fanatic, I am grateful for this model as I feel it really paved the way for the many exemplary IWC reps we have today.

I wish I still had my white dial GST at times... Maybe I'll have to revisit this one sometime soon...

Excellent choice, LHOOQ!

Regarding your questions-

1) Not entirely sure, but I think you might be able to adjust from inside the case. Perhaps when you do a day/date wheel swap, you can confirm?

2) Sending the hands out to be lumed is probably the best course of action.

3) 4) Swapping to Swiss ETA day/date wheels should remedy this problem.

5) A gen dial would be tops on this watch! I do see them come up from time to time on the Bay; otherwise, I'm not certain if Concepta can get dials for discontinued pieces like this (might not hurt to at least ask).

Cheers!

//ubi

[miagi]

it is a very classy looking watch. i stand divided in choosing between this 3707 vs the 3719 for my next purchase (should just get them both eh?)

as for a dial change you might get lucky with pm'ing consepta, but i dont know for sure.

wear it well!

ok, so ubi had just replied some 20 minutes before me :P didnt see that

[lhooq]

I'm very encouraged by today's posts. As is, it's already a stunning, no-nonsense watch (color... who needs it?) that reminds me of an alternate-universe Speedmaster. (That's not meant as a slight to IWC fans; I'm an Omega fanatic.) I'm waiting for my ETA wheels to arrive (including a German day wheel, nat

[unregistered]

The GST to me was one of the first acknowledged superreps around. I had one for 2 weeks before I sold it off. The size of it and thickness unfortunately left me less than satisfied. But that's my own personal feelings for it. The watch itself was stunning and like you said, simple and matter of fact. There are very few flaws in it and the ones you mentioned are more issues in assembly/compromises in reps that just occur.

In such an instance, all the posts above have addressed them. The datewheel change is the one thing that needs to be done, and do what Taka does, get the german datewheels, even less chance for people to call you out

Personally I wouldn't go for a relume as the area is so small, even with a relume it's hardly likely you'll notice it IMO.

[lhooq]

I had a bit of an eye-opener after work today. I stopped at a second-hand watch store and saw a lightly used titanium GST on sale. I asked to view it up close. I must have stared at the dial for a good couple of minutes.

The hour indices on the gen were off-white, but what surprised me was how most of them weren't centered. None were crooked, but most had noticeable black gaps on one side or the other. Furthermore, the 6 o'clock marker wasn't perfectly aligned with the 120 pip on the tachymeter. It was closer to the dot than on my rep, but still not all the way there.

I left the store feeling better about my purchase from Mary, but with a worse impression of IWC's QC circa ten years ago! I'll install the ETA day/date wheels when I get them, see if I can nudge that bezel a little, and be done with it. I agree that a relume would offer too little bang for the buck; I had to get real close on the gen hands and squint hard to see the texture of the lume.

Again, these are very minor items. It would have been interesting (great word!) to have brought my rep to that shop and compared the two side-by-side, but based on my short-term memory there was very little to separate the two. Terrific rep.