IWC 3711/3713, preferably with bracelet, advice please...

Faz

Hi,

These are extremely interesting watches and I've owned both references in tritium with bracelets.

"My understanding is:

- 3711 domed crystal; 3713 flat crystal
- 3711 dials all tritium; 3713 early ones tritium, later ones superluminova"

Correct on all counts

Uncertain:

- i've seen dials that say T...T, but the lume is still stark white. the watch is from around 1998 to 2000. is it possible that it is still tritium (one would think so as it says T...T) and still stark white after 20 years?

It is certainly possible to have Snow White tritium, even after 20 years. I've seen the same phenomenon with 40 year old Rolex subs and Sea-Dwellers.

- my insistence on buying a watch with bracelet severely limits my options, as there are many more for sale sans bracelet. am i silly for wanting the watch WITH bracelet?

Not silly. 3711s are harder to find In general. Even harder with a bracelet. You'll have an easier time with 3713s.

Might it be smarter if i bought a watch without bracelet and tried to find an IWC, correct bracelet later? the issue is: the cost of the watch WITH bracelet is really no more than the watch without bracelet.

You might have to do that if you insist on a 3711. They are quite expensive. I must say that those bracelets are top notch but it makes the Doppel quite heavy. I always ended up wearing them on a strap.

- the vast majority of these are said to be "very good" condition. that seems to be some catch-all category. very difficult to ascertain its condition via an online posting. of course, it's much more difficult to find a NOS or New in Box type of watch at this point. "New" or "Excellent", which are both obviously above "very good" (on Chrono24) are more clear. "very good" seems to be subject to so much interpretation.

Insist on clear scans of the crown, case and dial.

Any advice would be most appreciated. This is my first time dipping my toes into the IWC waters!

The 7750 based Habring iteration is amazingly accurate and sturdy. You'll certainly want to know what kind of service history your potential purchase has. These are not cheap to service. You certainly don't want to lay down big bucks for the watch, a bracelet then a service. They are also quite difficult to have serviced by independent watchmakers since they have a hard time sourcing parts from IWC, like Rolex and Omega. But it's not impossible.

Thank you in advance.