Impressive watch giant IWC and Porsche Design used to get together for watch making fun. IWC manufactured the watches, and Porsche Design, well designed them. Now IWC has enough watches in its line (not that is was ever a thin line), and Eterna takes charge of making Porsche Designs' watches. Regardless, some of these watches are still made, and good deal of them from about 15-30 years ago are still around, highly collectible, and very cool.
One wonderful example of this perfect relationship is the IWC Porsche Design Ref. 3551. A watch released years ago, but looking a modern as can be, this is one of the most modern and minimalist implementations of a moonphase complication. Nicely legible, with the moonphase on the top of the central cross hair design, the watch houses an ETA mechanical movement, and a little secret.
Open the case upwards and the watch reveals an analog compass located underneath. A designer somewhere thought this was a very cool idea. And sure, flipping your watch up to reveal a compass is probably still really cool in the right circles. Today's equivalent is a digital compass, but lets not get out of era here. The addition of the moonphase complication is more an aesthetic touch, but oddly appropriate among the technical looking features. Case and bracelet are black titanium, which was a very advanced use of material for the time. Yet despite the fact that this watch was designed well over 20 years ago, it looks great today. Look for one in good condition at a price between $3000-$4000. Further, are the multitude of other interesting watches bearing both the IWC and Porsche Design names.
Update: Surprisingly I have received a high level of interest in this article. Not just because of my prose-like language, but also due to the fact that the IWC Porsche design watches represented a line of watches that collectors cherish and applaud. The watches were not necessarily a commercial success when released, I find it interesting that IWC lost money on the watches, and how it took a few generations of design to satisfy the many opinionated IWC and Porsche design watch lovers.
As Skip comments below, it is common for collectors to mix and match the watch parts to create the exact watch they want that best represents the IWC and Porsche Design connection. Currently all Porsche Design watches are produced by Eterna, but the designs are still in-house as far as I know. I look forward to seeing more of these and owning one sometime soon.
See IWC Porsche Design watches on eBay here.
See IWC watches on Amazon here.
See Porsche Design watches on Amazon here.
 NEW PORSCHE DESIGN P 10 MENS AUTO CHRONO WATCH 0 Bid  US $1,295.00
1h 38m
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 Porsche Design Chronograph 
US $1,300.00
2h 51m
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 XL PORSCHE DESIGN P6000 Diver 300m Titanium Automatic
US $1,390.00
11h 21m
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 NEW Porsche Design P6000 Automatic Chronograph Titanium 13 Bids US $898.00
13h 28m
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 Porsche Design By Eterna P 6000 385 mm NO RESERVE 7 Bids US $102.50
2d 16h 58m
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 PORSCHE DESIGN BY ETERNA TITANIUM AUTOMATIC CHRONOGRAPH
US $1,249.00
3d 17h 28m
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Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com
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Good afternoon, Mr. Adams,
There were in fact three IWC Porsche Design (PD) models made of black colored titanium: 3330 Ultra Sportivo, 3430 Ultra Sportivo Calendar, and 3517 SL Automatic. But, the Compass Moonphsse was alas never one of them. The IWC PD Compass Moonphase was only made in one model: black aluminum only, Ref:3551 (the reference number you identified correctly–which is a very impressive skill you have by itself.)
Specifically, the IWC Porsche Design (PD) 3551 Compass Moonphase case is made from black powder coated aluminum. The band is black Delrin (or Delryn). Delrin is a very hard nylon plastic material with metal-like properties (e.g. it can be machined).
There is a titanium version of the Compass (sans moonphase), but it is the color mat titanium. Both the case & band are titanium.
Primary Source Reference http://www.iwc.ch Member Area
Hi Skip,
Thanks for the comment! Your expertise is impressive, you know your stuff. I will likely cover more watches of this venerable genre as I view interesting examples. Do you have any in your collection, or are you just a big fan such as myself?
I own an IWC Porsche Design Automatic Chronograph Ref:3704. It has the IWC calibre 7922 based on the Valjoux 7750. It also has the 3rd generation bracelet (the one that doesn’t ‘fall apart’ like the 1st and 2nd generation).
The newer watches have faces that often say “IWC Porsche Design” or “Porsche Design by IWC”. I really like the older desigms where International Watch Company is spelled out in a Script font. There are 3 versions of this face–two with “Porsche Design” on them and one with no reference to Porsche at all!
To get the watch I really want, I’d need: (1) an old face (2) a new movement and (3) the 3rd generation band. Some people have pieced together watches like this. Other people have taken the ‘less desirable’ pieces and made ‘klunkers’ to sell on Ebay: old band, old movement, newer (less interesting) face!)
I can’t say that any of the faces are more valuable than the other–it’s personal preference. The “IWC” versions are “less busy” and easier to read. The “International Watch Company” versions I think are a bit more elegant. The 3rd generation band though is necessary if you want to wear the watch every day. Lastly, the versions with “TITAN” on the case I don’t really like. Those letters were dropped, even though the watch nickname has remained “TITAN” in collecting circles.
IWC lost money on every 42mm Titan Chrono they sold! It was available for about $5000 new. I bought a very nice one on Ebay for $2000 and wear it everyday. Titanium feels great against your skin–almost as nice as high quality rubber.