Coming together in 1978 and beginning as a means for IWC to bolster sales and create new markets for them to tap into, the Swiss watchmaker's collaboration with Porsche Design has gone down as one of the most successful and iconic collaborations within watchmaking. The collaboration has produced some fantastic watches over the decades, one of which being the very first timepiece they ever produced together, the IWC Porsche Design Compass Watch. Launched in 1978, it was designed by the same man who designed the Porsche 911 in 1963, Ferdinand A. Porsche. Having left his family’s eponymous automaker, Ferdinand founded Porsche Design Studio in 1972 and became known for his affinity for Bauhaus design aesthetics – a design language that IWC and Porsche Design’s collaboration watches would embody. As such, the IWC Porsche Design Compass Watch is a famously minimalist timepiece that features an uncomplicated circular 39mm two-tier PVD-coated aluminum case that features a black sector dial to display the time and a compass on the tier beneath that can be shown when the case has been opened via the pushers on either side of the lugs at 6 o’clock, with the lugs at 12 o’clock doubling as a hinge.

Watch is in near-mint condition, showing only minor signs of wear. The aluminum clasp has some marks and oxidation visible in the edges, but the rest of the case appears to have a nice and virtually un-marked PVD coating. Dial has nicely aged tritium markers with no marks or wear visible. Bracelet has 25 links, all of which are removable. 2 extra links on the side.

An incredibly revolutionary watch for its time, the IWC Porsche Design Compass Watch tackled new fronts for horology that no watchmaker would dare tackle during the peak of the Quartz Crisis. Not only was the timepiece mechanical, but it was also featured a new design aesthetic, new functions, new manufacturing techniques, and an entirely new material.