Schaffhausen, 20 March 2017 – IWC Schaffhausen unveiled a completely overhauled line of Ingenieur watches at the 75th Goodwood Members’ Meeting. This historic motorsport event in the south of England was the perfect place to showcase the new collection, the design of which is starkly reminiscent of the first generations of this watch family from the 1950s and the 1960s. Another highlight came in the form of a demonstration of the Mercedes 300 SL from 1955 – the year the Ingenieur was born.
A simple watch with three hands, the first Ingenieur raised the bar with its minimalist design, which IWC continued to refine from 1967 with the Reference 866. “The new collection is very much inspired by these early Ingenieur models, so the watch family is definitely going back to its roots. The influence is clear to see in the simple round case as well as in the dial with its striking hands and indices with luminescent elements,” explains Christoph Grainger-Herr, the new CEO of IWC Schaffhausen. The Ingenieur family now has a striking vintage character and is lighter and more elegant in its overall appearance. The new collection covers a lot of bases with three automatic models, four IWC-manufactured chronographs and a limited-edition reference with perpetual calendar.
The Ingenieur Automatic is a simple watch with three hands, a date window at “3 o’clock” and a case measuring 40 millimetres in diameter. Three versions are available. Two of the models feature a stainless-steel case and rhodium-plated hands and indices. The first (Ref. IW357001) has a silver-plated dial and a black alligator leather strap, and the second has a black dial and a stainless-steel strap. The third version is the Reference IW357003, which has an 18-carat red gold case, a silver-plated dial, goldplated hands and a black alligator leather strap.
The Ingenieur Chronograph is driven by the new IWC-manufactured 69375 calibre with a bidirectional pawl-winding system and a power reserve of 46 hours. Two of the versions are available with a stainless-steel case and strap: one features a silver-plated dial and gold-plated hands, while the other has a blue dial and rhodium-plated hands The stainless-steel strap has been newly developed especially for the Ingenieur. It is exceptionally comfortable to wear and has a fine-adjustment clasp integrated into the buckle. The third version comes in 18-carat red gold with a slate-coloured dial, gold-plated hands and a black alligator leather strap All the watches feature a see-through sapphire-glass back that provides a view of the 69375 calibre.
The Ingenieur Chronograph Sport is driven by the IWC-manufactured 89361-calibre movement and is limited to just 500 watches. The 44-millimetre titanium case, black dial and black calfskin strap create an overall impression of sporty elegance. The small seconds hand in the shape of a lightning bolt at “6 o’clock” is a reminder that a soft-iron cage protects the movement against the negative influence of magnetic fields.
The top-of-the-range model is the Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month. The perpetual calendar automatically recognizes the different lengths of the months, including the leap day occurring every four years; it is extremely easy and convenient to adjust using the crown. The IWC-manufactured 89800 calibre.