I’ve never been a huge fan of the Ingenieur collection but the IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Sport has got my attention. Unveiled at the Goodwood 75th Members Meeting earlier this year, it’s not a radical departure from traditional IWC design but there’s just something about it that really resonates. It’s big and aggressive and yet somehow soft and refined at the same time. It sounds crazy I know but there’s just this certain sense of unexpected sophistication that makes this watch pretty cool.
The IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Sport
First things first: not to state the obvious but the IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Sport (Ref. IW380901) is not going to be for everybody. For a start its 44mm in diameter and 15mm thick, making it, shall we say, less attractive to those with smaller wrists. On the flip side however, the case is constructed from lightweight, super strong titanium, which means the watch is nowhere near as heavy as it may first appear.
What really caught my attention however was the jet-black dial, which is framed nicely by the polished titanium bezel. There’s not much in the way of color, other than the contrasting white highlights on the various hands and indices, which can sometimes be a little boring however in the case of the IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Sport it really works. It gives the watch that unexpected sense of sophistication I was talking about earlier plus it makes the dial really easy to read.
The 2-register flyback chronograph dial layout features elapsed hour and minute counters combined in a totalizer at 12 o’clock, along with small hacking seconds in a separate sub-dial at 6 o’clock. The small seconds hand is in the shape of a lightning bolt, which according to IWC serves as a reminder that a soft-iron cage protects the movement against the negative influence of magnetic fields. It’s a little bit cheesy but not so much that it’s off-putting, plus it will make for a good conversation starter at parties. Hours and minutes, along with the chronograph seconds, are displayed centrally and there is a date window at 3 o’clock. Completing the dial is a tachymeter scale running around the periphery, useful for measuring speed.
Powering the IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Sport is the Manufacture 89361 calibre, an automatic movement with flyback chronograph functionality. As previously mentioned, a soft-iron cage protects the movement against the negative influence of magnetic fields. The reason for this goes back to the origin of the collection, which was originally aimed specifically at a profession that came into regular contact with magnetic fields and gave the watch its name: engineers – or in German, Ingenieure. As a subtle nod to this fact the dial features a vintage ‘Ingenieur’ logo next to the date at 3 o’clock.
Offered in a limited edition of 500 pieces, IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Sport is paired with a black calf skin leather strap with contrast white stitching. Price is set at US$11,100.
Check out www.iwc.com for more information.
