The IWC Cousteau Divers Chronograph is a limited edition watch designed to honor the memory and accomplishments of the famous maritime scientist Jock Cousteau. Each watch has embedded in its case back a small fragment of wood from the original ship used by Cousteau, the Calypso. Several IWCs in the past have been duplicated by the replica manufacturers in the past. Most have had obvious flaws such as quartz movements or the lack of an anti-reflective coating on the crystal. Just recently several versions of the Ingenuer line of IWCs have been replicated with titanium cases and in some instances chronograph movements. All have some rather obvious flaws that makes them easy to identify.
The new replica IWC Cousteau Divers chronograph is considered to be one of the first generation of “super replicas”, replica watches that are so accurate that they are difficult to detect without opening the case of the watch. They correct many of the flaws that have existed in earlier replica IWCs and improve upon the visible quality and fit of the watch. The replica Cousteau Divers copies all the of the signature features of the genuine watch. This means it has a working inner bezel that is adjustable by the third crown. It also includes a near bezel-less crystal with a inner and outer coating of an anti-reflective coating that makes it nearly invisible at most angles. Also the replica watch copies the rubber watch band of the genuine down to the engravings and markings on the inner surface. The material of the watch band is of a high quality and as far as we can tell indistinguishable from the genuine. Even the buckle has the correct markings and surfacing. Also copied accurately is the wooden disk on the case back that is a part of the genuine watch.
The replica IWC Cousteau Divers is powered by an Asian copy of the tried and true ETA 7750 chronographic movement.
The replica IWC Cousteau Divers is powered by an Asian copy of the tried and true ETA 7750 chronographic movement. 
This disk is covered by a sapphire crystal also duplicating the look of the real IWC. Dial printing is excellent, even when viewed with a macro lens. There are no runs or breaks in the printing, and the dial is accurate to the level of the texture on the subdials. Even the orange tip of the chronograph center-second hand is bent slightly like the genuine to avoid issues with optic distortion when viewing it in action. Flaws Like most replica watches the luminescent coating on the hour markers and hands is not as robust of that of the genuine watch. This is a common flaw in replica watches and remains one of the best ways to spot them. The date wheels, while accurate, tend to not center themselves perfectly as they advance. While this may be an indicator that you may be handling a replica watch be aware that improperly adjusted genuine IWCs may also exhibit this problem.
The “10” and “15” on the inner bezel of the watch have their digits slightly spaced out more than the genuine model. This is easy to spot when you have the watches sitting next to each other, but may be subtle to the casual observer. The replica IWC Cousteau Divers is powered by an Asian copy of the tried and true ETA 7750 chronographic movement. This movement is very similar to the model movement used in the genuine IWC. These newer 7750 copies are more reliable than previous examples have been, and are running at the correct 28,000 hz. Care must be taken when purchasing this watch. The example replica watch described in this review is one of the most accurate replicas seen on the market. With the exception of the “10” and “15” spacing on the bezel it is truly a direct copy of the original from an external appearance. Being that this is a rarer example of an IWC watch I would restrict my purchases to an authorized dealer or a sales channel that is reliable.
Compare to Genuine IWC Cousteaus on eBay
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