Return of the legendary Ingenieur
IWC Schaffhausen unveils new models at Watches and Wonders 2025 that include a tribute to two watch legends
Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar 41
Two watch legends meet in IWC’s new complication watch, which pairs a Gerald Genta-inspired stainless steel watch and a perpetual calendar developed by Kurt Klaus, the brand’s pioneer watchmaker.
The 41 mm wide Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar has all the attributes of IWC’s 2023 luxury sports watch based on the original Ingenieur timepiece designed by Gerald Genta in 1976. They include an integrated bracelet, a “Grid” dial featuring a pattern of small squares, and a bezel with five functional screws. Klaus’ simple crown-operated perpetual calendar was unveiled in 1985.
The new Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar flaunts elaborately satin-finished and polished surfaces on both the case and bracelet. Its 41 mm wide steel case frames a blue “Grid” dial with three sub-dials displaying the date, day of the week, month and perpetual moon phase. The moon phase needs just one adjustment when it deviates by one day, which will occur only after 577.5 years. The leap-year indicator is located on the sub-dial at 9 o’clock.
Visible through the sapphire glass case back is an automatic movement which features the highly efficient Pellaton winding system and ceramic components. The movement has a power reserve of 60 hours.
Price: S$52,600
Ingenieur Automatic 42
This Ingenieur watch with its Gerald Genta-derived integrated bracelet design is the first in its series to be made of ceramic – lighter than steel yet hard and scratch-resistant, and immune to temperature changes.
The Ingenieur Automatic 42 is a full black ceramic timepiece, including the black “Grid” dial. Even the add-on parts such as the bracelet, crown and crown protection are made of black ceramic.
Besides its ceramic content, the watch also showcases high-detailed finishing. This is tough to achieve, given that ceramic is among the hardest materials on earth. Diamond-tipped tools were used to do the job.
Nonetheless, IWC is an old hand with the material; it unveiled the world’s first wristwatch with a black zirconium oxide ceramic case in 1986. For the Ingenieur Automatic 42, it adopted an innovative new approach to build a pure ceramic case with three parts. This was to meet the design requirement of an Ingenieur model, which is to be as slim as possible, as well as to stay faithful to the original stainless steel design.
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The watch is powered by an automatic movement with a Pellaton winding system and has a power reserve of 60 hours.
Price: S$27,700
Ingenieur Automatic 35
Despite its compactness, the Ingenieur 35, housed in a 35 mm case just 9.44 mm thick, has all the features of the Gerald Genta-inspired Ingenieur model – a bezel with five functional screws, integrated bracelet and the “Grid” dial. Besides its looks and detailed finishing, it also has the complete feel of the Ingenieur. The model comes in three versions – 18-carat 5N gold with gold-coloured dial and two in stainless steel, in black and in silver-plated dial.
The open-case back of the Ingenieur 35 reveals an automatic movement with a gold-plated oscillating weight. It has 42 hours of power reserve.
Price: S$53,600 (gold)
Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber Tourbillon Skeleton XPL
What sets this flying minute tourbillon watch apart from others in the market is the IWC’s patented SPRIN-g PROTECT shock absorber system. Designed to protect the tourbillon mechanisms against shock, it’s a first for IWC.
The all-black gravity-defying timepiece is heavily skeletonised to offer a better view of the complicated mechanics and shock absorber spring inside it. But more importantly, it’s also to reduce the mass of the movement and maximise the performance of the system.
Its 44 mm Ceratanium (a special titanium alloy that is similar to ceramic) case houses an automatic movement with a Pellaton winding system, reinforced by ceramic parts. The movement, which was redesigned to accommodate the shock absorber, has a power reserve of 80 hours.
The highly complex watch features a black patterned rubber strap with a Ceratanium pin buckle.
Price: 180,000 Swiss francs (around S$273,600)
Pilot’s Watch Performance Chronograph Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month
This all-black chronograph-perpetual calendar watch, crafted from Ceratanium (including the bracelet), is IWC’s first Performance Chronograph featuring a perpetual calendar. The date and month of the perpetual calendar are displayed in a digital format, using large gold-coloured discs. The digital displays on the black dial with a hammered texture recall IWC’s emblematic Pallweber pocket watches from the 1880s.
Nestled in the 43 mm matt black-finished Ceratanium case, visible through a tinted sapphire glass case back, is a highly engineered automatic mechanical movement with a power reserve of 68 hours.
Price: S$128,000
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