Text and photo: Anders Modig

Eternal life

Legendary Watchmaker Kurt Klaus often leaves his beloved hometown of Schaffhausen to travel the world and talk about his trade. When Plaza met him in Stockholm he explained what separates the wheat from the chaff in the horological world.

During the 49 years you spent with Swiss firm IWC Shaffhausen you contributed to around 20 patents, including one for the world's first eternal calendar which was presented in 1985. How did you end up in the watch business?
    – When I was a boy I liked to play with small things and the kind of toys that you screw together, like Meccano. This developed into an extreme interest in micromechanics, and watches were more fun than optical instruments, which are also based on micromechanics.
You have been with IWC for your entire career. Why is that?
   – After doing four years of watchmaking school I wanted to go back to the part of Switzerland where I had my roots, and IWC was the only factory there. Otherwise things are concentrated around Geneva and Basel. I am happy there, and a lot of their manufacturing still takes place on the same premises where the brand was founded 138 years ago.
When IWC started out they were controversial because they used more machines than the competition.
   – Yes, but it is important to remember that machines can do certain parts, but all the assembly is still done by hand by our watchmakers.
You would think that with today's computers it would be possible to mechanise the whole procedure?
   – No, absolutely not. A computer can't do anything by itself It is a good tool, but people can't be replaced. Maybe for cheap watches, but not when it comes to high-quality timepieces. It is impossible.
When you talk about eternal calendars which have wheels that take 100 years to turn, it's easy to imagine a watch as a living being.
   – That's what separates a real watch from a quartz watch. A mechanical watch is alive.

Anders Modig Ord & Bild