Short answer
Most watches sold as a Da Vinci IW376050 fail one test before you ever open the caseback: the dial layout is wrong. The genuine chronograph in this family uses two registers stacked at 12 and 6, with running seconds at 6. If the watch in front of you has three subdials, or a small seconds hand sitting at 9, it is built on a different movement and the rest of the copy will be off too.
What this reference is supposed to be
The IW376050 sits in IWC's Da Vinci chronograph range, the line that carried the in-house 89360 calibre. That movement is the interesting part: combined hour and minute totalizer at 12, small seconds at 6, flyback function, automatic winding. Reference numbers in this family get typed wrong in listings all the time, so pull the number against IWC's own records before you trust a photo. A round steel case, stepped bezel, sapphire front and back, and a strap that tapers into the lugs is the shape you should be seeing.
The movement tells
- Subdial positions. Two, at 12 and 6. A 7750-based copy gives you running seconds at 9 and different spacing. That mismatch shows from across a table.
- Flyback. Start the chronograph, let it run, then press reset without stopping it first. A true flyback snaps back to zero and keeps running. Most copies either stop or refuse the command.
- Pusher feel. Firm, with a clear detent at start, stop and reset. Mushy pushers with long travel are a bad sign.
- Rotor and bridges. Engraving should be crisp and cut into the metal. Laser etching looks flat, with soft edges under a loupe.
Dial, crystal and case
Print quality separates tiers more than anything else. Look at the applied markers under a phone light: they should sit level, with sharp polished edges and no glue haze around the base. The date font is another giveaway, since cheap dials use generic type that is wider and rounder than what IWC prints. On the crystal, IWC uses anti-reflective coating on both faces, so the glass nearly vanishes head on and shows only a faint blue tint at an angle. Copies tend to go one of two ways: heavy purple glare, or no coating at all and a mirror finish. Case finishing is the last check. Brushed surfaces should be even and directional, and the polished chamfers along the lugs should stay sharp where the two finishes meet. Rounded-off edges there mean the case was polished by hand after the fact.
What best quality should mean here
No replica of this reference gets the movement right, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling. What you can compare is dial accuracy, case finishing, crystal coating and strap hardware. Weight matters too. A hollow-feeling watch tends to have a thin case and a cheap bracelet. Water resistance claims on any copy should be treated as decoration. Do not swim with it.
Before you pay
- Confirm the subdial layout matches two registers at 12 and 6.
- Test the flyback function if the seller will let you.
- Ask for a macro shot of the dial printing and the clasp.
- Check that the reference number on the caseback matches the listing.
- Budget for a service or a new strap on anything older than a couple of years.
That is the whole game. Get the layout right, get honest photos, and skip anyone who will not send them.