The Breitling Watch Source Forums

After my first attempt with the white dial IWC Yacht Club last year I vowed to never own another one because the watch suffers from a personality disorder. However, I was so disguisted with the IWC Top Gun 3880 that I made a boneheaded decision to trade it for a Brand New IWC Yacht Club Titanium Volvo Race Edition. It was a solid offer so I made the deal with my AD and I fully expecting to take photos of this ugly piece of crap and list it today.

Things changed as soon as I opened the box, I was floored by how awesome the carbon fiber dial is in person. In photos it looks so gimmicky but in the metal is catches the light in a way that I can't capture in photos, it's gorgeous. It's actual carbon fiber unlike some watches where the dial is painted to look like carbon fiber. The case on this version is entirely brushed (grade 5 Ti) so now there is no question whether it is trying to be a sporty watch or a dressier watch like the standard version, it's pure bad @$$ sport. It's light weight and sits on my wrist perfectly. It's not long like most IWCs, it's the perfect length. The movement is MUCH quieter than the previous Yacht Clubs that Shark and I both owned, this one doesn't have the 'ratchet' sound when the rotor spins.

I had zero hope for this watch but now it appears to be a keeper (for the time being anyway).

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"I don't own any watches, I just lease them"

Drooling. Congrats , great pick up!

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Breitling navitimer super constellation LE
Omega Ploprof 1200m
Bremont supermarine
Rolex milgauss GV
Olivant and Botsford 40mm Gold edition

Any watch with those great Portuguese applied numbers has something going for it. Bad a$$ sports watch indeed. Congratulations on the pleasant surprise.

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David
Je suis désole pour mon mauvais français.

Zenith Pilot Big Date; IWC Vintage Collection Aquatimer; IWC Portuguese 7-day

nice piece serge glad you got something that you like. its too bad the top gun didnt work. it looked really cool in the pics.

Didn't expect to open this thread and find that you'd got one!

Congrats, that is very sporty, and I'm pleased to see it doesn't say Volvo on the dial.

Haha if it said volvo on it then that would have been a deal killer for sure.

The presentation box was cool, it was wrapped in a faux carbon fiber material. Im very surprised how nice this one is in person.

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"I don't own any watches, I just lease them"

yeah if it said volvo on it i would have to hate it too.

The Breitling M-1 yellow with countdown says volvo on it. Not so cool.

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-RJ

Great looking watch, does it not say 'Volvo' anywhere on it? Maybe they would sell more Volvos if they debadged them or branded them as 'IWC'!

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Breitling B-1 1999
Breitling Chrono Superocean 2004
Casio G Shock
Citizen Eco Drive AT4000-02E (for gardening)
Seiko 5 SNZG15J1
Hamilton X Wind LE

Yup. It sucks. But you knew that.

How do they make the complications and the general busy-ness of a carbon fiber dial look so clean as a package? Boy, that's nice. Congrats.

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Scott

AP Royal Oak 15400, silver
Zenith Chronomaster El Primero Classic Cars
Vintage gold Corum
Rolex DJ 36 TT, oyster dial, oyster/smooth
Baume & Mercier Riviera 200m, silver dial/aquamarine bezel
Breitling Superocean 57, rose/stainless

I've always liked the aesthetics of the Yacht Club but have never seen where the money is in them.

However, that is a stunning example of the amalgamation of classic, clean lines and an uncluttered dress watch dial combined with high tech materials.

I bet it's comfortable to wear as well, despite its size.

This one must be a keeper, surely.

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Forum Representative for Andrew Michaels Jewellers, UK

Please visit my Watch Blog at http://www.AndrewMichaels.co.uk

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I don't know if I see it as a dress watch, the brushed Ti and rubber strap give this model a very sporty look while I think the standard Yacht Club suffers from being in between sporty and dress because of the super high polished bezel. It's exceedingly comfortable to wear. While the dial may look too big, overall the watch fits perfectly and it is well within the limits of my wrist. I think my 43mm Spitfire may even wear longer than this 45mm piece. In most conditions, the dial looks matte black, in direct light and outdoors you can see the carbon fiber but it's not over powering, it doesn't have that checkerboard look. IWC did an outstanding job on this piece however they did a crappy job promoting it and their stock photos suck.

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"I don't own any watches, I just lease them"

The regular YC is either like a woman trying to decide which shoes are "just right with this dress," or simply schizophrenic; not that those options are mutually exclusive.

Am I dressy? Am I sporty? Am I blingy? Am I understated? And I'm quite liberal on the crossover from "ok for a suit" to "ok for T-shirt and jeans" - I'll wear many watches with a suit I'm sure more strident purists won't. I made it my only watch on a trip back east trying to force myself to appreciate it, but alas what a mess of a watch and the reason it went back, especially at the $12k price tag.

Seems the brushed finish saves the day. As for size, it fit me so it can't be too big for anyone else on this forum.

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SHARKMAN

I guess this must be an "in person" watch in the same (but opposite) way that the Top Gun is. In other words I thought the Top Gun looked great in pics, but apparently it's not so great in person. TBH, I'm not sold on this Yacht Club any more than the original version from the pics, so I guess it must have a special something in the flesh.

Glad you're enjoying this one more though Sergio.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

It looks horrible in photos, so I can see why not many would be fans, but in the metal it's impressive and I'm really enjoying it already...... Until the next IWC comes in........which should be in about 16 hours.

The TG was horrible in person, the case was shaped like an H, it had no flow to it at all. The case was too long, too thin, and the dial was too blah for me.

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"I don't own any watches, I just lease them"