IWC Serial Number Checker
IWC Schaffhausen has numbered movements sequentially since its founding era, and the published record runs from the 1880s to the mid-1970s. Within it a movement number dates to a year or a tight block; past it, production dates by paperwork and reference. IWC's own museum service can issue an archive extract for a specific movement number.
How to read it
Enter the movement number as engraved. The checker reads it against the published record and returns the tightest window the record supports — beyond the record's end it says so instead of extrapolating.
| Marking | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Movement number (digits) | reads against the chart below |
| Beyond the published record | later production — dates by paperwork and reference |
Where to find it on the item
On the movement — the caseback usually has to come off, a watchmaker's job. Some pieces repeat the number on the caseback or between the lugs; a case number is not always the movement number, and the movement's is the one the chart reads.
Movement number → years
| Serial range | Years |
|---|---|
| 6,501 – 15,499 | 1884 |
| 15,500 – 23,499 | 1885 |
| 23,500 – 29,499 | 1886 |
| 29,500 – 37,499 | 1887 |
| 37,500 – 48,999 | 1888 |
| 49,000 – 62,999 | 1889 |
| 63,000 – 75,499 | 1890 |
| 75,500 – 87,499 | 1891 |
| 87,500 – 102,999 | 1892 |
| 103,000 – 116,999 | 1893 |
| 117,000 – 132,999 | 1894 |
| 133,000 – 151,499 | 1895 |
| 151,500 – 170,499 | 1896 |
| 170,500 – 193,999 | 1897 |
| 194,000 – 211,999 | 1898 |
| 212,000 – 230,999 | 1899 |
| 231,000 – 253,499 | 1900 |
| 253,500 – 276,499 | 1901 |
| 276,500 – 298,499 | 1902 |
| 298,500 – 320,999 | 1903 |
| 321,000 – 349,499 | 1904 |
| 349,500 – 377,499 | 1905 |
| 377,500 – 405,999 | 1906 |
| 406,000 – 434,999 | 1907 |
| 435,000 – 463,499 | 1908 |
| 463,500 – 491,999 | 1909 |
| 492,000 – 520,999 | 1910 |
| 521,000 – 556,999 | 1911 |
| 557,000 – 593,999 | 1912 |
| 594,000 – 620,499 | 1913 |
| 620,500 – 634,999 | 1914 |
| 635,000 – 656,999 | 1915 |
| 657,000 – 683,999 | 1916 |
| 684,000 – 713,999 | 1917 |
| 714,000 – 741,999 | 1918 |
| 742,000 – 764,999 | 1919 |
| 765,000 – 779,999 | 1920 |
| 780,000 – 783,499 | 1921 |
| 783,500 – 793,499 | 1922 |
| 793,500 – 806,999 | 1923 |
| 807,000 – 827,499 | 1924 |
| 827,500 – 865,999 | 1925–1926 |
| 866,000 – 890,499 | 1927 |
| 890,500 – 919,499 | 1928 |
| 919,500 – 928,999 | 1929 |
| 929,000 – 937,499 | 1930 |
| 937,500 – 937,999 | 1931 |
| 938,000 – 938,999 | 1932 |
| 939,000 – 939,999 | 1933 |
| 940,000 – 944,999 | 1934 |
| 945,000 – 955,499 | 1935 |
| 955,500 – 978,999 | 1936 |
| 979,000 – 999,999 | 1937 |
| 1,000,000 – 1,012,999 | 1938 |
| 1,013,000 – 1,018,999 | 1939 |
| 1,019,000 – 1,038,999 | 1940 |
| 1,039,000 – 1,061,999 | 1941 |
| 1,062,000 – 1,077,999 | 1942 |
| 1,078,000 – 1,091,999 | 1943 |
| 1,092,000 – 1,105,999 | 1944 |
| 1,106,000 – 1,130,999 | 1945 |
| 1,131,000 – 1,152,999 | 1946 |
| 1,153,000 – 1,176,999 | 1947 |
| 1,177,000 – 1,204,999 | 1948 |
| 1,205,000 – 1,221,999 | 1949 |
| 1,222,000 – 1,252,999 | 1950 |
| 1,253,000 – 1,290,999 | 1951 |
| 1,291,000 – 1,315,999 | 1952 |
| 1,316,000 – 1,334,999 | 1953 |
| 1,335,000 – 1,360,999 | 1954 |
| 1,361,000 – 1,398,999 | 1955 |
| 1,399,000 – 1,435,999 | 1956 |
| 1,436,000 – 1,459,999 | 1957 |
| 1,460,000 – 1,512,999 | 1958 |
| 1,513,000 – 1,552,999 | 1959 |
| 1,553,000 – 1,611,999 | 1960 |
| 1,612,000 – 1,665,999 | 1961 |
| 1,666,000 – 1,732,999 | 1962 |
| 1,733,000 – 1,777,999 | 1963 |
| 1,778,000 – 1,795,999 | 1964 |
| 1,796,000 – 1,819,999 | 1965 |
| 1,820,000 – 1,888,999 | 1966 |
| 1,889,000 – 1,904,999 | 1967 |
| 1,905,000 – 1,969,999 | 1968 |
| 1,970,000 – 2,025,999 | 1969 |
| 2,026,000 – 2,112,999 | 1970 |
| 2,113,000 – 2,217,999 | 1971 |
| 2,218,000 – 2,229,999 | 1972 |
| 2,230,000 – 2,264,999 | 1973 |
| 2,265,000 – 2,274,999 | 1974 |
Worked examples
Reading 1222000
The record places 1,222,000 in 1950.
Reading 1000000
The one-million mark reads 1938.
Reading 3500000
Beyond the published record's end (~2.27M, 1974) — later production, dated by papers and reference.
IWC serial number questions
Why is the answer a window, not an exact year?
Movements were produced in batches and cased later, and the records themselves resolve to blocks. The window is the honest precision of the data.
Where do I find the movement number?
Engraved on the movement itself. Opening a caseback is a watchmaker's job — service papers often quote the number, which spares the opening.
Can IWC itself confirm my watch's date?
Yes — IWC's museum archive service issues extracts for specific movement numbers, including calibre and delivery details. For pieces past the published record it is the definitive route.
Does a valid serial prove the watch is genuine?
No — movement finishing, dial work and case quality decide. The serial must merely be consistent with the calibre and the model's run years.
The number is beyond your chart — what does that mean?
Later production, past the published record. Those pieces date by warranty papers, reference and model history — the checker says so rather than guessing.
Does age move the value?
Through the model: the right vintage references carry premiums, generic ones don't. The live pieces below show current UAE asking prices.