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The reason why fish swim with their mouths open – IWC Aquatimer 2000, reference 3568-08

The reason why fish swim with their mouths open – IWC Aquatimer 2000, reference 3568-08

This must be a fault!

Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva, 2009

There is excitement at the IWC stand. The new Aquatimer series is presented and the authorized dealers are not very enthusiastic. The overwhelming consensus among the authorized dealers was that the watches in these color combinations were not for sale and that Schaffhausen would have to take another look at them.

But what was it that triggered the vehement resistance of the contract partners against the new introductions from Schaffhausen? Was the design of the new Aquatimer models really so terrible?

Shown were:

• Aquatimer chronograph in pink gold with manufacture movement, black dial and black rubber strap with waffle pattern, reference 3769-03

• Aquatimer Chronograph in stainless steel with modified ETA 7750 movement in black/yellow or blue/orange with silver totalizers, steel bracelet or black or blue rubber strap with waffle pattern, reference 3767-01 and 3767-02 respectively 3767-03 and 3767-04

• Aquatimer Deep Two with integrated mechanical depth gauge, black dial and black-blue bezel on steel bracelet or black rubber strap with waffle pattern, reference 3547-01 and 3547-02

• Aquatimer 2000 in black with yellow accents and rubber or steel bracelet, reference 3568-02 and 3568-01 and the Aquatimer 2000 with white dial and orange accents on the indexes and hands and black and white or blue and white bezel also with orange accents and black or blue rubber strap with waffle pattern or steel bracelet.

The latter watches probably caused the most displeasure, because these models did not reach the dealers – at least for the time being.

Also rejected were the waffle-patterned rubber straps, which were replaced by smooth variants before the sales launch.

Except for the Aquatimer 2000 with the white dials and the orange accents, all other models, apart from the already mentioned change to the rubber straps without waffle pattern, were launched unchanged despite the protests. The white dial variant was initially cancelled without replacement and did not appear in the 2009/10 catalog.

In the following year, IWC supplemented the diving watch program then again with an Aquatimer 2000 with white dial, but now simpler design.

The watch:

Not only during the search for my third diving watch from the house of IWC, I realized that the Aquatimer series are among the most interesting and innovative diving watches of Swiss provenance, even without unwearable and unsaleable prototypes have reached the bottom of the Challenger low. So what's to stop me from adding (at least) one watch from each generation to my collection? Since IWC brought a lot of variety into the Aquatimer series with sometimes quite fast but always radical model changes, there would be a lot of variety in the collection.

The already existing Aquatimer GST (3536-02) and Ocean 2000 (3504-01) were followed in late summer of last year by the Aquatimer Automatic (3290-02) and in the fall still the Aquatimer Vintage Collection (3231-01) and now with the first watch purchase of 2023 the Aquatimer 2000 (3568-08).

Since I'm not a big fan of white dials – black, blue and silver are okay – I'm not particularly interested in chronographs and the Deep Two was too far outside my budget, only a watch with a black dial came into question this time as well. I found it in Australia, the offer – the watch with box and papers and an additional original rubber strap – was almost too good to be true and the seller even let me bargain down a bit and so we made the purchase perfect.

… and it was. After a few weeks of anxious waiting, I was able to release the watch at the German customs and since then I wear it with growing enthusiasm.

Specifications:

Case:

Material: satin and polished stainless steel

Crystal: cambered sapphire crystal, anti-reflective coating on both sides

Case back: screwed and engraved case back

Dimensions: Case diameter: 44.00 mm, Bezel diameter: 46.00 mm, Height: 14.10 mm, Length (measured over horns): 52.00 mm

Strap lug width: 22.00 mm

Weight: approx. 222 g (on stainless steel bracelet), approx. 150 g (on rubber bracelet)

Water resistance: water resistant up to a pressure of 200 bar (2000 m)

Features: external unidirectional rotating snap-in diving bezel with sapphire crystal inlay and 60 clicks, secured against unintentional adjustment, crown signed "Probus Scafusia" at 3 watch, internally screwed, 6.6 mm diameter, 3 gaskets, separate steel crown tube

Dial and hands:

Color: matte black dial, rhodium-plated and polished hands.

Hour scale: applied indices, rhodium-plated and polished and covered with Swiss Super-LumiNova®, printed minute track in yellow, date display at 3 watch

Hands: rhodium-plated and polished hands, covered with Swiss Super-LumiNova®.

Movement and functions:

Caliber: nickel-plated automatic caliber 30110 (based on ETA 2892-A2), 28,800 A/h, center second, date disc black with white lettering, 21 jewels, Glucydur balance, Nivarox hairspring, shock protected and antimagnetic, pearlized and decorated with Geneva stripes, 163 parts, tungsten rotor, stop-seconds, manual winding, date quickset

Power reserve: approx. 42 hours

Function: hours, minutes, seconds and date

Bracelet:

Material: brushed stainless steel, 22 mm wide

Color: silver

Clasp: signed stainless steel safety folding clasp, button clasp, no diver extension

Special feature: proprietary IWC bracelet system with Cartier quick change system and safety button clasp

additional strap:

Material: Rubber

Color: Black

Buckle: signed stainless steel pin buckle

Special feature: proprietary IWC bracelet system with Cartier quick-change system

References: (strap) IWA31759, (pin buckle) IWA34456

optional strap:

Material: Nylon

Color: Black

Clasp: Velcro hook and loop closure

Feature: proprietary IWC bracelet system with Cartier quick release system

Reference: IWA36516

List Price (2011):

4,900.00 Euro (6,800.00 Dollar)

Chaos:

The model variety, which resulted from the frequent detail changes in the short lifetime of this series, caused quite a chaos in the reference numbers. While the reference numbers of the three-hand Aquatimer were clearly structured and limited to a maximum of four numbers, this changed with the 3568 for the first and (hopefully) last time. In total, the references distinguish eleven different models, some of which differ only in details.

The references 3568-03, 3568-04 were taken out of the program after the presentation at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva, they were, unlike the reference 3569-07, the so-called "Fanta", unfortunately not granted a later life in the form of a limited edition.

Epilog:

The fifth generation of the IWC Aquatimer had a hard time from the start. In addition to criticism from authorized dealers, the watch also initially failed among collectors and enthusiasts: the design was too arbitrary, the watch too interchangeable, and design comparisons were made with Seiko and Citizen. In fact, however, the watch is unmistakably an Aquatimer, even if it is clearly different from its predecessors. After the first generation, the fifth generation is the only Aquatimer series so far to be available exclusively in stainless steel, but in 2009 it was one of the first watches, along with the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, to get a sapphire crystal bezel inlay, and it was the first Aquatimer to be equipped with proper luminous material on the dial, hands and bezel.

In the meantime, however, the situation has changed. The 3568, similar to its sisters, enjoys increasing popularity.

Conclusion:

The fifth generation Aquatimer is also a typical IWC: quality beyond all doubt and built like a safe. The method of bezel actuation introduced in 1982 with the Ocean 2000 – pressing the bezel down at two opposite points and then turning it – is omitted here, but the bezel clicks very precisely, has no play whatsoever, and you definitely don't have to worry about it moving accidentally.

The watch overall is large and heavy, but wears surprisingly comfortably. Due to IWC's lavish use of luminous material by IWC standards, readability is very good even in the dark and in difficult lighting conditions.

The Aquatimer 2000 is a great addition to my dive watch collection. It adds a bit of color with its yellow accents, but remains subtle enough that the watch can be worn with a dressier shirt.

The fifth generation Aquatimer is also my fifth watch from the IWC diving watch family. Like its four sisters before it, the 3568 is again thoroughly convincing, even if it comes across as somewhat less “technically sophisticated” than its predecessors and successors. The only weak point could be seen as the quick-change system adopted from the group's sister company Cartier. Not that it's bad, because it certainly isn't, but it has the disadvantage that third-party bracelets can't be mounted without further ado.

Source references:

International Watch Co. „Die Uhren von IWC 2009/10“, „Die Uhren von IWC 2010/11“, „Die Uhren von IWC 2011/12“, „Die Uhren von IWC 2012/13“, „Die Uhren von IWC 2013/14“ and „Historical Selection – Engineering Time Since 1868“ | IWC.com | Chronos „Meilensteine: IWC“

Image sources: Image 1 to 6 and 20: International Watch Co. | Image 7 to 18 and 21: own work | Image 22: unknown

Additional useless knowledge

As mentioned above, references 3568-03 and 3568-04 were only shown at the SIHH 2009 in Geneva and never went on sale. The approximately 300 pre-produced watches of reference 3568-07 aka “Fanta” were sold as “Limited Edition” in IWC boutiques, but never appeared in IWC catalogs and sold rather poorly except in the Netherlands (Oranje is the national color there).

A dealer in Rotterdam produced a small “Rotterdam Edition” special series based on the “Fanta”, with the skyline of the port city engraved on the left side of the case. The watches were available with a steel bracelet or with a custom-made orange rubber strap.