One of the most popular early IWC pocket fake watches from the company’s late 19th-century production is the digital display pocket replica watch known as the Pallweber. The fake IWC made Pallweber pocket watches for only a short period of time, starting in 1885. They were very famous at the very beginning but the market seems to have tired of the novelty after only a few years, and then the production ceased. Since the period of production was so short, they’re also among the most collectible of early IWC pocket replica watches.
The original Pallweber pocket watch used a movement with a distinctive forked cock for the third and fourth wheels – the base was one of IWC’s so-called “Elgin” movements. The name is somewhat a mystery; it apparently has nothing to do whatsoever with the American Elgin watch company but nothing in IWC’s records from the era shed any light.
The wristwatch version of the Pallweber is true to its pocket watch lineage in terms of size; 45mm in diameter, although it’s also rather thin at 12mm. The movement is, of course, manufactured by IWC; it’s the new IWC caliber 94200, running at 28,800 mph, with a quite good 60-hour power reserve. The case is red gold, and the dial is white lacquer; production is limited to 250 pieces worldwide.
The only other three-disk, jumping hours and minutes wristwatch I’m aware of is the Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk, which is a much more complicated construction and which includes an egalite to help ensure unvarying torque to the balance.
