I was very fortunate to be able to see and touch one of these watches. It is not a watch that is easy to come by. I have to say that I like the watch and it is a very very nice watch. It was on sale at one of the local pre-loved watch shops.
The watch, in glorious Titanium.
The dial. This version is without the H3 (Tritium) markings.
The Ocean 2000.
The BUND markings. Sadly there are some signs of erosion on the case back.
You can read more about the watches here:
and here:
Unlike stainless steel, titanium is almost impervious to saltwater corrosion. What you saw on the caseback was not erosion, but casting "flaws." I use the term "flaws" loosely beause it is an inherent part of making the original case design. The pitting that you described as erosion is usually always found near the bend in the case between the caseback and bracelet.
ReplyDeleteThese cases were cast then milled for the caseback, bracelet, etc. and milling the bend was extremely difficult so it was not done. At the time (early 1980's), IWC was one of the first adopters of Titanium watch production and they were still working through the manufacturing process. Later versions of the Ocean 2000 and 500 with the updated zig-zag style bracelet attachment were better formed. By the time the GST line came out in the late 1990's they had perfected the material production techniques.