This web application uses cookies and other tracking technologies to ensure you get the best experience. DateYourIWC is a utility which lets you derive date of origin and some additional production information about watches produced by the International Watch Company, Schaffhausen (IWC) from their movement and/or case number. The availability of source information dictates that the application works best with vintage models produced prior to 1975.
Instructions for using our serial number look-up tables
Movement Serial Number. The people over at the IWC forum are confused by this. This digit number is engraved by Iwc is a utility which let you derive date of origin, some other dating dating from the movement, case number of. Expand submenu Home Collapse submenu Home. Rolex Serial Number Look Up Seiko Sinn TAG Heuer Tudor Ulysse Nardin. IWC Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar Saint Exupery 46mm 18K Rose Gold Watch IW502617. Massapequa Park.
This page contains INSTRUCTIONS for using the serial number look-up tables that are found on many of our watch company history pages. The example below uses information from the American Waltham Watch Company, but that is just an example. You should consult the serial number table for the specific brand of watch movement you are trying to date by selecting a company from the menu on the left.
Not all vintage watches can be dated using the serial number. Some American watch brands did not use a consistent series of serial numbers, but most of the big manufacturers did. Most vintage Swiss pocket watches did NOT have serial numbers and can't be dated by this method.
Can't find YOUR exact serial number in our lookup tables?
Many watch companies made hundreds of thousands of watches, and some companies made millions of watches! It would be impractical to list the individual serial numbers of EVERY watch made... that would make some really long pages! Our serial number tables list RANGES of serial numbers. So to determine when your watch was manufactured, you will need to find where your serial number fits within the range of numbers.
Serial number look-up example:
Let's say you have a Waltham watch with serial number 21,607,210 as shown in the photo below. Note that we're using the serial number from the watch movement, not from the watch case. Looking at the table of Waltham serial numbers (see example below), you can see that number 20,900,000 was made in 1917 and 21,800,000 was made in 1918 (marked in red in the table below). Since your serial number falls between those two numbers, you know that your watch was made in 1917 or 1918.
Not sure which serial number to use?
You must use the serial number from the MOVEMENT of the watch... the working part with the wheels and gears... not the serial number from the watch case. Cases and watches were often made by different companies and each usually has its own serial number. You usually have to take the back off the watch case to see the movement serial number which may appear anywhere on the watch movement.
Use the movement serial number. Do NOT use the case serial number!
This is an example only. Your movement serial number may not be in exactly the same location as the one in the photo, but you are looking for the serial number that is on the watch mechanism itself... not the serial number on the external case.
| Year | S/N |
|---|---|
| 1852 | 50 |
| 1853 | 400 |
| 1854 | 1000 |
| 1855 | 2500 |
| 1856 | 4000 |
| 1857 | 6000 |
| 1858 | 10,000 |
| 1859 | 15,000 |
| 1860 | 20,000 |
| 1861 | 30,000 |
| 1862 | 45,000 |
| 1863 | 65,000 |
| 1864 | 110,000 |
| 1865 | 180,000 |
| 1866 | 260,000 |
| 1867 | 330,000 |
| 1868 | 410,000 |
| 1869 | 460,000 |
| 1870 | 500,000 |
| 1871 | 540,000 |
| 1872 | 590,000 |
| 1873 | 680,000 |
| 1874 | 730,000 |
| 1875 | 810,000 |
| 1876 | 910,000 |
| 1877 | 1,000,000 |
| 1878 | 1,150,000 |
| 1879 | 1,350,000 |
| 1880 | 1,500,000 |
| 1881 | 1,670,000 |
| 1882 | 1,835,000 |
| 1883 | 2,000,000 |
| 1884 | 2,350,000 |
| 1885 | 2,650,000 |
| 1886 | 3,000,000 |
| 1887 | 3,400,000 |
| Year | S/N |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 3,800,000 |
| 1889 | 4,200,000 |
| 1890 | 4,700,000 |
| 1891 | 5,200,000 |
| 1892 | 5,800,000 |
| 1893 | 6,300,000 |
| 1894 | 6,700,000 |
| 1895 | 7,100,000 |
| 1896 | 7,450,000 |
| 1897 | 8,100,000 |
| 1898 | 8,400,000 |
| 1899 | 9,000,000 |
| 1900 | 9,500,000 |
| 1901 | 10,200,000 |
| 1902 | 11,100,000 |
| 1903 | 12,100,000 |
| 1904 | 13,500,000 |
| 1905 | 14,300,000 |
| 1906 | 14,700,000 |
| 1907 | 15,500,000 |
| 1908 | 16,400,000 |
| 1909 | 17,600,000 |
| 1910 | 17,900,000 |
| 1911 | 18,100,000 |
| 1912 | 18,200,000 |
| 1913 | 18,900,000 |
| 1914 | 19,500,000 |
| 1915 | 20,000,000 |
| 1916 | 20,500,000 |
| 1917 | 20,900,000 |
| 1918 | 21,800,000 |
| 1919 | 22,500,000 |
| 1920 | 23,400,000 |
| 1921 | 23,900,000 |
| 1922 | 24,100,000 |
| 1923 | 24,300,000 |
| Year | S/N |
|---|---|
| 1924 | 24,550,000 |
| 1925 | 24,800,000 |
| 1926 | 25,200,000 |
| 1927 | 26,100,000 |
| 1928 | 26,400,000 |
| 1929 | 26,900,000 |
| 1930 | 27,100,000 |
| 1931 | 27,300,000 |
| 1932 | 27,550,000 |
| 1933 | 27,750,000 |
| 1934 | 28,100,000 |
| 1935 | 28,600,000 |
| 1936 | 29,100,000 |
| 1937 | 29,400,000 |
| 1938 | 29,750,000 |
| 1939 | 30,050,000 |
| 1940 | 30,250,000 |
| 1941 | 30,750,000 |
| 1942 | 31,050,000 |
| 1943 | 31,400,000 |
| 1944 | 31,700,000 |
| 1945 | 32,100,000 |
| 1946 | 32,350,000 |
| 1947 | 32,750,000 |
| 1948 | 33,100,000 |
| 1949 | 33,500,000 |
| 1950 | 33,560,000 |
| 1951 | 33,600,000 |
| 1952 | 33,700,000 |
| 1953 | 33,800,000 |
| 1954 | 34,100,000 |
| 1955 | 34,450,000 |
| 1956 | 34,700,000 |
| 1957 | 35,000,000 |
| - | - |
| - | - |
This is an example using the Waltham serial number table. Be sure to use the table that is specific
to YOUR brand of watch when looking up your serial number.
Be sure to use the serial number on the watch movement (the mechanism).
Do not use the serial number from the watch case.
| | HOME | SELL YOUR WATCH | BUY A WATCH | BUY A WATCH APPRAISAL | |
IWC Watch Serial Numbers
| DATE | SERIAL # | DATE | SERIAL # | DATE | SERIAL # | DATE | SERIAL # |
| OLD | SYSTEM | 1901 | 253,500 | 1926 | 645,000 | 1951 | 1,253,000 |
| 1875 | 7,000 | 1902 | 276,500 | 1927 | 866,000 | 1952 | 1,291,000 |
| 1877 | 25,000 | 1903 | 298,500 | 1928 | 890,500 | 1953 | 1,316,000 |
| 1879 | 50,000 | 1904 | 321,000 | 1929 | 919,500 | 1954 | 1,335,000 |
| 1881 | 80,000 | 1905 | 349,500 | 1930 | 929,000 | 1955 | 1,361,000 |
| 1883 | 100,000 | 1906 | 377,500 | 1931 | 937,500 | 1956 | 1,399,000 |
| 1907 | 406,000 | 1932 | 938,000 | 1957 | 1,436,000 | ||
| NEW | SYSTEM | 1908 | 435,000 | 1933 | 939,000 | 1958 | 1,460,000 |
| 1884 | 6,501 | 1909 | 463,500 | 1934 | 940,000 | 1959 | 1,513,000 |
| 1885 | 15,500 | 1910 | 492,000 | 1935 | 945,000 | 1960 | 1,553,000 |
| 1886 | 23,500 | 1911 | 521,000 | 1936 | 955,500 | 1961 | 1,612,000 |
| 1887 | 29,500 | 1912 | 557,000 | 1937 | 979,000 | 1962 | 1,666,000 |
| 1888 | 37,500 | 1913 | 594,000 | 1938 | 1,000,000 | 1963 | 1,733,000 |
| 1889 | 49,000 | 1914 | 620,500 | 1939 | 1,013,000 | 1964 | 1,778,000 |
| 1890 | 63,000 | 1915 | 635,000 | 1940 | 1,019,000 | 1965 | 1,796,000 |
| 1891 | 75,500 | 1916 | 657,000 | 1941 | 1,039,000 | 1966 | 1,820,000 |
| 1892 | 87,500 | 1917 | 684,000 | 1942 | 1,062,000 | 1967 | 1,889,000 |
| 1893 | 103,000 | 1918 | 714,000 | 1943 | 1,078,000 | 1968 | 1,905,000 |
| 1894 | 117,000 | 1919 | 742,000 | 1944 | 1,092,000 | 1969 | 1,970,000 |
| 1895 | 133,000 | 1920 | 765,000 | 1945 | 1,106,000 | 1970 | 2,026,000 |
| 1896 | 151,500 | 1921 | 780,000 | 1946 | 1,131,000 | 1971 | 2,113,000 |
| 1897 | 170,500 | 1922 | 783,500 | 1947 | 1,153,000 | 1972 | 2,218,000 |
| 1898 | 194,000 | 1923 | 793,500 | 1948 | 1,177,000 | 1973 | 2,230,000 |
| 1899 | 212,000 | 1924 | 807,000 | 1949 | 1,205,000 | 1974 | 2,265,000 |
| 1900 | 231,000 | 1925 | 827,500 | 1950 | 1,222,000 | 1975 | 2,275,000 |
Serial numbers are approximate.
Iwc Serial Number Database Lookup
© 2003-2016. Elite Timepieces. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Iwc Serial Number Database Query