Welcome back watch lovers! After taking the summer off to enjoy some rest and relaxation we are back with a new article. Today we’re taking a look at IWC’s GST collection and It’s relationship with Porsche Design, with a deeper dive on the GST automatic chronograph, A watch I’m proud to say I currently have in my collection.

Some Background on Porsche Design Studio

Porsche Design was founded in Stuttgart as a design studio and lifestyle brand in 1972 by Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, the designer of the Porsche 911 cars and son of the Porsche founder, to complement the car brand using similar aesthetics and styles.

PD Studio (credit: studiofaporsche.com)

The guiding philosophy of the brand “form follows function,” comes directly from F.A. Porsche’s approach to creating objects that prioritise utility paired with a clean and functional elegance, as shown by his work on the iconic 911.

Porsche Design created their first watch in 1972 named The Chronograph 1. It was manufactured by the Swiss watch company Orfina, initially made using the famous Valjoux 7750 movement (which we’ll cover later on in the article) and later the lemania 5100. It was offered for sale in Porsche dealerships as a driving accessory and was the world’s first all-black wristwatch using a PVD-coated case and bracelet with a dashboard inspired dial. The watch was a near-instant success and was even adopted by military forces around the world due its readability and durability.

Orfina Chrono (credit: wornandwound.com)

The Partnership that pulled IWC out of the Quartz Crisis

The alliance between IWC and Porsche Design began at a difficult time in the watchmaking industry. The 70s and early 80s are infamously referred to as the quartz crisis due to the advent of quartz technology. Simply put, Japanese brands like Seiko, Citizen and Casio rapidly gained market share from their innovative, accurate and cheap to produce battery operated watches. This influx of much more affordable watches that only needed to be reset when the battery ran out, began making mechanical obsolete. The drop in demand for mechanical watches let to the closure and consolidation of hundreds of watch makers, in turn causing the loss of tens of thousands of jobs.

Seiko Astron mvmt (credit: reference.grail-watch.com)

In order for watch brands to compete, they began using this technology in their own watches while others took it a step further and created value through building partnerships, so was the case with IWC and Porsche Design.

Their alliance began in 1978 with a 20-year agreement and the model to kick it off was the Compass Watch (Ref. 3510). This ground breaking watch featured the ability to tell the time as well as a compass for direction. In order to achieve this, the watch and its various parts had to be antimagnetic in order not to impact the compass’s accuracy.

IWC PD Compass (credit: windvintage.com)

IWC PD Compass 2 (credit: hodinkee.com)

New manufacturing techniques and materials were created by IWC specifically for the production of this watch. An anti-magnetic aluminium alloy was used and coated with PVD, preventing interference with the compass and giving it this first of its kind matte black look. This model ended up being very successful and appealed to a younger, adventure focused generation, all while being a mechanical watch in the middle of a quartz dominated market. Various versions of this watch followed featuring complications such as a moon phase, chronograph models and titanium cases.

The GST Collection

The Aquatimer

Fast forwarding 20 years later after an immensely successful campaign, IWC launched a collection in 1997 to commemorate their partnership called GST. GST stands for Gold, Steel, Titanium - the three metals used for the case and bracelet of the watches in the collection. These watches were characterised by their angular cases and integrated bracelets, their sporty designs reminded the user that these weren’t just accessories but highly engineered tools. The most obvious example of this is the GST Aquatimer model ref. 3536 which boasted water resistance at a depth of 2000 metres, around ten times the depth of what typical modern divers like the Tudor Black Bay 58 can reach, all this without a helium escape valve.

IWC Aquatimer (credit: monochrome-watches.com)

The Deep One

Another extremely fascinating model from the GST line-up was the Deep One ref. 3527, a groundbreaking dive watch released in 1999, with a very unique feature. This watch featured a mechanical depth gauge, the first of its kind incorporated into an automatic winding dive watch. This gave the user the ability to measure the depth of their dive and also record their maximum dive depth, all while timing the length of their dive all with the same instrument that fit neatly in a 43mm case. The movement of this watch is based on Jaeger-LeCoultre’s cal.891, chosen specifically for its thin profile, allowing the the depth gauge to fit in the case with it while keeping it wearable and not bulky.

IWC Deep One (credit: europeanwatch.com)

The Chronograph

Finally we can cover my personal favourite of the collection, the GST Automatic Chronograph ref. 3707. This model was offered in all three metal case types with either a white or black dial. I believe a titanium cased black dial is most in line with IWC’s vision and stays true to Porsche Design’s philosophy of a functional piece due to its rugged look and highly legible design, being more of a highly precise tool than a luxury fashion accessory. The integrated bracelet used for the GST collection is incredibly comfortable and fairly unique in its ability to be adjusted by pressing the small buttons on the back of the links to remove them in order to get the perfect fit. The 3707’s movement is a IWC cal. 7922 (based on the ETA Valjoux 7750) featuring automatic winding and a day-date function.

IWC Chrono (credit: zeitauktion.com)

Specifications Value
Reference 3707
Case Diameter 39mm
Lug Width Integrated Bracelet
Water Resistance 120m
Calibre 7922 (Based on Valjoux 7750)
Power Reserve 44 hours
Winding Automatic
Crystal Sapphire
Crown Screw-down

The Valjoux 7750 Movement and its Significance in Watchmaking

The Valjoux 7750 is one of the most iconic and widely used automatic chronograph movements in modern watchmaking, first introduced in 1974 by Valjoux, now part of ETA. Known for its robustness, reliability, and ease of mass production, the 7750 uses a cam-actuated chronograph mechanism (instead of a more delicate column wheel) and features a distinctive three-subdial layout: chronograph hours at 6, running seconds at 9, and chronograph minutes at 12, plus day and date indicators. Its versatility, reasonable cost, and adaptable design have made it the backbone of countless chronographs for brands ranging from IWC and Breitling to Sinn, making it arguably the world’s most popular automatic chronograph movement and a benchmark for durability and serviceability in everyday watches

Valjoux 7750 (credit: monochrome_watches.com)