IWC: Ingenieur Automatic 40 Blue

Launched in March of last year at the Watches and Wonders fair in Geneva, the IWC Ingenieur Automatic 40 makes its return today in a bold and elegant guise. The collection includes a titanium version and three stainless steel models with “tapisserie” dials in black, silver, and aqua. Now, an irresistible new color has been added: the blue!

THE IWC INGENIEUR: BETWEEN PRECURSORS AND ICONS OF WATCHMACKING

Going backwards, the Ingenieur collection was created in response to a specific need: resistance to magnetic fields. This antimagnetic watch was protected by a system based on the Faraday Cage principle, featuring a soft iron inner case. It was designed and conceived for professionals in scientific, engineering, and medical fields who were frequently exposed to strong magnetic fields. The first IWC Ingenieur was introduced in 1954 with references 666A and 666AD. It featured the calibers 852 (with central seconds and a Breguet hairspring in ref. 666A) and 8521 (with a date function in ref. 666AD), both developed under the direction of Albert Pellaton, IWC’s Technical Director since 1944.

Its successor, the reference 866 from 1976, introduced minor improvements, primarily related to the movement, with the caliber 8541. The design was slightly refined while preserving the minimalist lines and features characteristic of the first generation of Ingenieur models. 

However, what followed in the ensuing years marked a true revolution for the collection. The Ingenieur’s DNA and antimagnetic properties remained central to the project, but the groundbreaking design crafted by the skilled hands of Gérald Genta heralded the arrival of a new milestone in the history of watchmaking.  

The IWC Ingenieur SL reference 1832, made of stainless steel, was introduced in 1976 at the Basel fair and sold for 2,000 swiss francs between late 1976 and early 1977. This watch represented the third sports-oriented masterpiece by the legendary designer Gérald Genta, following the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Patek Philippe Nautilus. It featured a sculpted case, an integrated bracelet with H-shaped links, a textured dial, and a round bezel with five screws. At six o’clock, the iconic and unmistakable logo with an arrow piercing the full name stood out, evoking the lightning bolt symbol used to emphasize the watch’s resistance to magnetic fields.

The 40 mm case and its nearly 14 mm thickness earned the watch the nickname “Jumbo”, as the standards of the time favored much smaller dimensions. Shock protection was ensured by rubber shock absorbers on which the automatic caliber 8541 ES was mounted. Additionally, it featured a soft iron inner case that safeguarded the movement from magnetic fields up to 80,000 A/m.

A few years later, in 1983, several new models were added to the collection, reflecting a continued commitment to Gérald Genta’s design philosophy. To meet the preferences of the 1980s market, the case size of the new Ingenieur SL was reduced to a diameter of 34 mm. This model later earned the nickname “The Skinny Ingenieur” among collectors due to its slim profile.

Among these, the “Ingenieur 500,000 A/m” stood out as particularly noteworthy. Developed by IWC in the mid-1980s with the help of two Swiss metallurgy experts, Professor Steinemann and Dr. Straumann, this watch was completely antimagnetic. It featured a balance spring made of a special niobium-zirconium alloy. The model was tested in an MRI scanner and withstood an extraordinary magnetic field intensity of 3.7 million A/m. These tests and prototypes also served as remarkable demonstrations of the brand’s technical expertise.

After being acquired by the Richemont Group, the IWC Ingenieur Automatic made its return in 2005 with the reference 3227. This model retained all the design codes of the Ingenieur SL conceived by Gérald Genta in the 1970s and showcased the in-house caliber 80110, featuring a Pellaton winding system and an integrated shock absorption mechanism. Consistent with the Ingenieur tradition, a soft iron inner case protected the movement from magnetic fields.

In 2013, IWC became the «Official Engineering Partner» of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team. That same year, the Ingenieur underwent another update with the introduction of reference 3239. Smaller and slimmer, with a 40 mm diameter (including crown guards) and a thickness of 10 mm, this model offered a decidedly more modern interpretation of the classic SL Jumbo design.

THE NEW IWC INGENIEUR AUTOMATIC 40

The IWC Ingenieur is back! Following the titanium and steel versions with “tapisserie” dials in black, silver, and aqua presented last March at the Watches and Wonders fair in Geneva, the Ingenieur Automatic 40 makes its return today in an even bolder and more elegant guise. 

All the elements that made the IWC Ingenieur SL Jumbo ref. 1832 from 1972 famous and iconic are here again: the screwed bezel with five polygonal screws, the dial with its unique pattern, and the integrated bracelet with “H”-shaped links. The tradition and technical-stylistic legacy of Gérald Genta meet innovation, with the introduction of several improvements aimed at greater ergonomics and aesthetic refinement. These include: the 40mm case size (10.8mm thick) and the central link attachment that now ensures excellent wearability even on slimmer wrists, the alternation of polished (bezel profile, case middle, and central bracelet links) and satin-finished surfaces (case middle, side bracelet links, and upper bezel) that enhance the “sporty-elegant” combination of the timepiece, and the fully redesigned crown guards for a sturdier and more robust appearance.

In addition to the case, bracelet, and bezel with fixed screws, the new Ingenieur Automatic 40 (Ref. IW328907) stands out for its extraordinary blue dial. The characteristic “tapisserie” structure, made up of small lines and squares, is pressed at high pressure into the soft iron base, and then the blue color is applied using a PVD coating. The rhodium-plated hour and minute hands, along with the baton indices, are filled with Super-LumiNova luminescent material to ensure optimal readability in all light conditions. At 3 o’clock, there is the date display, framed by a steel profile, with the date disc background matching the color of the dial.

THE IWC-MANUFACTURED CALIBRE IWC32111

Inside the steel case is the IWC-manufactured caliber 32111 (derived from the 32110), an automatic movement with an efficient double-pawl winding system. By converting the movements of the arm into potential energy for the mainspring, it reliably accumulates a power reserve of 120 hours. In line with the Ingenieur’s technical heritage, the inner iron core protects the movement from the effects of magnetic fields on the watch’s accuracy.

CONCLUSION AND PRICE

The new Ingenieur Automatic 40 (Ref. IW328907) features an integrated bracelet with “H”-shaped links, a butterfly deployant clasp, and will be available at a price of €13,000, in line with the other iterations of the model.

By Luca Barone