AAA IWC Replica was one of the stars of that revival, a highly technical yet niche brand that appealed to true watch nerds. Everything it did then became the foundations for its modern day success – literally, with the brand still relying on the complications invented then.
Even with the added complications, all the variants of the original IWC Da Vinci Replica retained the same 39 mm case of 1985. Not only was it too small for contemporary tastes by the late 1990s, the thickness of the case made gave it a burger-like profile.
The upsized models did not just get a new case and crystal, but are also set apart by a different dial that has large Arabic numerals and wide, lance-shaped hands hands. While doubtlessly an attempt to modernise the old-school IWC Fake Watch dial, the redesigned dial lost the elegant simplicity of the original, and ironically appears more cluttered, even though the calendar sub-dials were streamlined.
But the focus of this story is the Da Vinci Tourbillon Replica Watches, unveiled in 1999 to mark the new millennium – and fortunately fitted with the original Da Vinci dial.
Hand-wound movements bring the wearer a little closer to the life inside a watch, and are naturally more traditional. Being hand-wound elevates the Charming Fake Watches to a slightly more refined realm of complications, despite the humble base movement.