IWC Moonphase and Watchmaking Classes

[celticveil]

Hello everyone.

 

This is going to be a long initial post but please bear with me. If you don't feel like reading it all, skip to the end where I'll have a 'tl;dr' summary.

 

I found this thread about the Portofino moon-phase but there were no follow-ups and it was over a year old. So I start a new one here, hoping people will respond with what they know.

 

Which describes the kind of replica I bought. At first I bought a $400 genuine Movado, then got frustrated since reading the EXACT time is impossible without the minute marks. As this is a gift to myself to celebrate my exiting the Army after 5 years, I wanted something nice but functional.

 

I found an IWC rep at a local dealer (I'm stationed in South Korea currently) and not knowing the brand at all, was fascinated with the clear glass back and 7-day double spring box movement. I honestly couldn't care less that it's a replica, the movement combined with the sun/moon dial were interesting enough to warrant purchase.

 

So I paid about 180 for it, fully expecting it to be some sort of fakery at some level (still oblivious to the nature of IWC watches, lol). Got home, did some research, stunned that the actual gen watch costs so much. honestly, too much in my opinion. Even if I was rich, I still wouldn't pay MSRP that high for a watch.

 

Anyway, I noticed several discrepancies on the watch like 'eighten (18) jewels' on the back, differences in the number layout and the most noticible difference being the sun/moon dial, with a crescent moon as opposed to a full moon. But hoestly I liked the sun/moon dial so much as-is, I would never be willing to swap it for the legit version.

 

This watch was promptly removed from it's leather straps and mounted to a camouflage strap with flip-cover to conceal it. Again, I'm military so this is what we do with watches we want to wear while outdoors. I know some collectors will cringe and likely curse me for that.

 

My plans are to eventually open this piece up and tinker with it. Any information concerning it's drive mechanism would be greatly appreciated, as I am 100% unfamiliar with what model is even inside. All I know is it's a 2-spring system with a label declaring 7 days of power. Are there other similar systems, maybe ETA models, I should look at to upgrade to for better performance? As the back is fully crystal and visible, I would enjoy adding something with extensive visible moving parts.

 

Since I'm exiting with my GI Bill for college, I'm investigating watchmaking classes as well. this is something I've been intrigued by for some time. Though I don't own any genuine high end pieces, I do own several nice ones and a low-end 'davidoff' clone (with the 'davidoff' misspelled to 'davidof', again, bought in korea) which will also be going through some mods eventually. Does anyhone here know if there's a genuine market for watchmakers in the US, or would my GI Bill be better spent elsewhere?

 

Also can anyone recommend a resource online where I can find accurate information on beginner's watchmaking? Like swapping parts, basic maintenance, etc.

 

For 'tl;dr' purposes: Bought a rep Portofino Moon Phase and am looking at customizations and watchmaking classes. Any observations welcome, especially starting watchmaking classes and beginner's guides to entry-level horology.