As one of the most storied designs in the archives of IWC, the Ingenieur name was first seen on a dial in the mid-1950s, however, it wasn’t until the legendary watch designer Gerald Genta (also responsible for the Patek Philippe Nautilus and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak) turned his mind to rethinking the design in 1976. The IWC Ingenieur was reborn as a stainless steel sports watch, setting the template for the design today and in 2023, IWC announced three references of the IWC Ingenieur 40 collection to the celebrated line, with a refined design, updated movement and new dial colours.
Across the IWC Ingenieur 40 collection, the updated stainless steel case measures a universally wearable 40mm in diameter with a thickness of 10.8mm and a level of finishing that hasn’t quite been seen in the function-forward design of decades gone. From the articulate quintet of functional polygonal bezel screws to the articulated case lines defined by fine satin brushing and polished bevels, the attention to detail has stepped up without losing its original tool-watch DNA, consistent across the case and H-link integrated bracelet.
However, the thing that will immediately catch your eye is the dial, which now features an almost cross-hatched grid pattern across its surface that is stamped directly into the soft-iron dial blank. As you’d expect, the rhodium-plated hands and hour markers are filled with luminous material for easy time-telling, while the classic Ingenieur logo remains at 6 o’clock.
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While there’s a lot to be excited about across the entire new IWC Ingenieur 40 collection, the stand-out reference is the example hewn from titanium (reference IW328904) and delivers a nod to IWC’s pioneering use of the material in watchmaking in the 1980s. Weighing in around a third lighter than its steel siblings, the titanium example can be distinguished by its dark grey dial and blacked-out hands.
Powering the IWC Ingenieur 40 collection is the IWC-manufactured automatic 32111 calibre, which is also present in the new IWC Pilot’s Watch Mark XX and ticks away at 28,800vph with a solid power reserve of 72 hours. It’s tucked away behind the solid steel caseback, which also ensures the collection is guaranteed to have 100m of water resistance.
The IWC Ingenieur 40 collection in steel arrives at a price of AU$17,300 and will be available from selected IWC boutiques around the world. The IWC Ingenieur 40 in titanium arrives with an RRP of AU$21,700, which is certainly pushing up there in price but will no doubt be popular amongst IWC’s most passionate collectors.
Ingenieur Automatic 40, Ref. IW328901
Ingenieur Automatic 40, Ref. IW328902
Ingenieur Automatic 40, Ref. IW328903
