”In the 1970s, IWC Schaffhausen commissioned the renowned Geneva watch designer Gérald  Genta to redesign the Ingenieur”, the timepiece originally introduced in 1955, the brand says. ”With the first automatic movement developed in Schaffhausen and a soft-iron inner case for magnetic field protection, this watch marked a technical milestone for IWC – also evident in the name Ingenieur, the word used in German and French for Engineer. With his unique artistic signature, Genta succeeded in giving the Ingenieur a new, highly distinctive visual identity. His Ingenieur SL, launched in 1976 as the talking piece of IWC’s SL collection of steel luxury watches, featured bold aesthetic codes such as a screw-on bezel with five recesses, a dial with a unique pattern, and an integrated H-link bracelet. With its innovative and disruptive design, the Ingenieur SL was ahead of its time. Today, Gérald Genta’s creation is a collector’s favourite and one of the most sought-after models from the history of IWC,” the watchmaker adds.

”The overall dimensions of the case have been carefully reworked and improved down to the smallest detail,” IWC emphasizes:  ”the lug-to-lug distance of 45.7 millimetres ensures perfect ergonomics and excellent wearability, even on a slender wrist. While the Ingenieur SL from the 1970s had nose-shaped horns, the new Ingenieur Automatic  40 features a newly engineered middle-link attachment. Aesthetically similar to the Ingenieur SL, this new solution enhances the ergonomics and provides an even better fit on the wrist. The curved casing ring further improves the ergonomics of the case”.

There are three dial versions: white, black and the new IWC signature colour, aqua. The case is 40mm, thickness is 10.8 mm, the dial is an interesting play of lines and squares, while the bezel is screwed on the ring with 5 technical screws. The three models are in steel, while a fourth iteration is in titanium, powered by the 32111 in-house calibre, with antimagnetic qualities (40.000A/m), plus ”a power reserve of 120 hours”. Moreover, ”the case is water-resistant to 10 bar, making the Ingenieur Automatic 40 a modern and fully versatile sports watch.”

The titanium version of the Ingenieur Automatic 40 is a very smart choice, as we will see: „Titanium is about one-third lighter than steel,” IWC says, emphasizing the positive features of this material that is skin-friendly and anti-allergic. ”However, the robust and rugged metal is also incredibly difficult to machine. IWC pioneered titanium in the watch industry in the 1980s and has since acquired unique expertise in this field. The Ingenieur Automatic 40 with a grade 5 titanium case and bracelet features a highly detailed finish with sandblasted, satin-finished, and polished surfaces. The grey dial, as well as the black hands and appliques, further accentuate the characteristic matte grey look of the titanium.” the watchmaker added.

“With the new Ingenieur Automatic  40, the steel sports watch with an integrated bracelet returns to our portfolio. While taking inspiration from Gérald  Genta’s Ingenieur SL from the 1970s, we invested a lot of time and effort into engineering a new automatic model with perfect case proportions and ergonomics, a high level of detail and finishing, and equipped with modern movement technology. The new Ingenieur Automatic 40 is a versatile luxury sports watch for the 21st century,” – Christoph Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen

I liked the new Ingenieur, but I loved the new Top Guns – more exactly Big Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun in black or a beautiful deep blue (the Top Gun Oceana) powered by IWC calibre 69380. These are solid, reliable and “realfeel” watches that I am really happy I got to wear on our first day at Watches and Wonders.