Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
IWC Schaffhausen · Da Vinci
IWC Schaffhausen Da Vinci 40 mm Slate Sapphire
Reference 29231OR.41
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- IWC Schaffhausen
- Collection
- Da Vinci
- Model
- IWC Schaffhausen Da Vinci 40 mm Slate Sapphire
- Reference number
- 29231OR.41
- Year / era
- 1995 · 1990s — mechanical revival
- Complication
- Perpetual calendar
- Movement
- In-house manual-winding
- Case material
- Sapphire crystal case
- Dial type
- Slate grey
- Strap / bracelet
- Milanese mesh
- Water resistance
- 150 m
- Limited-edition status
- Limited edition of 188 pieces
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 40 mm
- Case thickness
- 8.1 mm
- Case material
- Sapphire crystal case
- Bezel
- Bidirectional 24-hour Cerachrom
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Slate grey
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Applied Arabic numerals with luminous coating
- Bracelet / strap
- Milanese mesh
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 150 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 59E — In-house manual-winding
- Movement type
- Manual-winding
- Frequency
- 21,600 vph (3 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 10 days
- Number of jewels
- 33 jewels
- Complications
- Perpetual calendar
- Functions
- Perpetual calendar, leap year
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1995 – 2010
- Limited-edition quantity
- 188 pieces
- Current market information
- Values have stabilised after the 2022 correction; condition and box-and-papers drive the premium.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
IWC Schaffhausen Da Vinci 40 mm Slate Sapphire sits within IWC Schaffhausen's Da Vinci line, introduced in 1995. It carries the house codes established since 1868 — sapphire crystal case case, slate grey dial and in-house manual-winding — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
The House
IWC Schaffhausen
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1868
- Founder
- Florentine Ariosto Jones
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Luxury
- Major collections
- Portugieser, Pilot's Watch, Portofino, Ingenieur, Aquatimer, Da Vinci
- Signature technologies
- Proprietary case-hardening and polishing · Shock-absorbing movement mounting · Certified chronometer regulation
- Famous movements
- In-house manual-winding · In-house automatic, Superlative Chronometer · In-house automatic chronograph · In-house automatic, chronometer certified
- Notable watches
- IWC Schaffhausen Portugieser 38 mm Blue 18k (2000) · IWC Schaffhausen Portugieser 40 mm Black Carbon (1962) · IWC Schaffhausen Portugieser 38 mm Silvered 18k (1987) · IWC Schaffhausen Portugieser 36 mm Slate Grade (1991)
Brand history
IWC Schaffhausen has spent more than 158 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Portugieser, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Florentine Ariosto Jones established IWC Schaffhausen in 1868, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every IWC Schaffhausen calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1868
Florentine Ariosto Jones founds IWC Schaffhausen in Switzerland.
1899
IWC Schaffhausen earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces IWC Schaffhausen to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
IWC Schaffhausen enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
IWC Schaffhausen continues to produce Portugieser, Pilot's Watch, Portofino and other icons in limited numbers.