IWC Cal. 852 Automatic 1957: Redial or Original Dial?

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Weihao

·Jan 1, 2026

Happy New Year everyone! I was walking past a shop the other day and saw this IWC (caliber 85xx I guess) on display. The shop was closed so I couldn’t get in for closer look.

The printing for both “International Watch Company” and “AUTOMATIC” looked slightly off for me. The former seems too dark compared to other examples I have seen. And the latter looks too big (tall?).

Any thoughts? I will go and have a closer look when the shop reopens.

Thank you all.

 

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bubba48

·Jan 2, 2026

I'm not an IWC expert but the minute dots look perfect, so I thinks it's probably original

 

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Dan S

·Jan 2, 2026

It looks repainted to me. The fonts as the OP noted, but also the markers look painted over, especially 7 o'clock.

 

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redpcar

·Jan 2, 2026

Print is too bold for me. The "I" looks wrong and what's up with that mark below the "Co"?

 

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Dan S

·Jan 2, 2026

Time to post this again:

 

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bubba48

·Jan 2, 2026

I still have a lot to learn 😟

 

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Weihao

·Jan 2, 2026

Thanks all for your helpful comments.

I texted the seller and he dated the watch as 1957 with caliber 852. So the the mark under “Co” is correct. But it still doesn’t explain the font being bolder/darker.

 

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Dan S

·Jan 2, 2026

Would love to hear from @Tony C. and some others.

 

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Tony C.

·Jan 2, 2026·Ωf Jury member

I have no doubt that it is a redial.

While it is true that there were a number of subtle variations over the decades, the SCHAFFHAUSEN lettering is not close to being the quality that I would expect of an original dial. The lettering is crude (too thick), and I believe that the AUTOMATIC lettering is too large, and inconsistent with cal. 852x models.

 

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Weihao

·Jan 2, 2026

Thank you @Tony C. Indeed the “AUTOMATIC” looked odd but I just couldn’t explain why. Thanks for confirming.

 

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Tony C.

·Jan 2, 2026·Ωf Jury member

This is an example of what I would expect from an original dial: