OCTA Factory: which IWC chronographs use the Dandong 6938?

Why does the same movement appear as 6938 and as 69385?

Because the two numbers come from two different records. The catalogue field that feeds the product pages reads 6938. The specification sheet we work from reads 69385. Nobody has told us that these are two movements, and nothing else in either record distinguishes them: the same three IWC references come up under both spellings. So we treat them as one movement and we show both numbers instead of picking one and hiding the other. If a seller quotes you the 6938 and another quotes the 69385, that is not evidence of two different builds. It is the same movement written twice, and it is worth saying so before somebody sells you an upgrade you already have.

Which IWC references carry it on this site?

Three. The IW378001 is the least expensive of them at $830. The IW389105 and the IW389401 are both $990. All three sit in the IWC Pilot chronograph family, which is the collection page they share. Other IWC references on this site, in the Portugieser and Perpetual Calendar families, are not recorded with this movement in our catalogue, and this page does not claim it for them: if you want to know what is inside one of those, ask on the order thread and the answer goes back per reference. The number on a family page is not a substitute for the number on the reference you are buying.

What kind of movement is it, in plain terms?

It is a chronograph clone: a movement built to the layout of the reference calibre, with the chronograph train and the counters inside the same frame rather than in a module bolted to the back. On a Pilot chronograph that is what the pushers at 2 and 4 operate, and what the subdials at 12, 6 and 9 display. Clone here means built to that layout by a movement factory, and it is the same word we use on every page of this site: nothing on this site claims that a watch sold here is an IWC watch, or that it has any connection to IWC. What we can tell you about this movement is its factory record and which references carry it. What we cannot tell you is how it is finished inside, because nobody has shown us in writing.

How do you check it on the watch you receive?

The caseback comes off and the movement is photographed. That happens after the payment is confirmed, not before, because the photographs are of the watch bought for your order rather than a stock image of the reference. You get the set within one to two days, with your order number on it, and you approve it before anything is dispatched. If the movement in the frames is not what this page describes, say so on the thread: the watch is swapped for another and photographed again, and if nothing acceptable turns up the payment is refunded. Shipping is a flat $50 tracked to every country except Brazil, returns run fourteen days in unchanged condition, and the movement carries a two-year warranty.

Is the 6938 the same movement as the 69385?

As far as our records go, yes. One number comes from the catalogue field, the other from the specification sheet, and the same three IWC references appear under both. We show both rather than pretend one of them does not exist.

Does the IWC Portugieser use the same movement?

Not in our catalogue. Only the three Pilot chronograph references are recorded with it here. For any other IWC reference we confirm the movement with the workshop before describing it.

Can I see the movement before I pay?

No. The photographs are taken after the payment is confirmed, of the watch bought for your order. Before you pay you have the reference, the price and the movement record on this page.

Where these references live on this site

• IWC Pilot chronograph collection
• All collections
• Cal. 4401, the Royal Oak chronograph movement
• What the QC step covers
• OCTA Factory: the workshop