IWC expands the Ingenieur collection in 2025

Intro

We were lucky enough to try to photograph all the new IWC Ingenieur 2025 models and were impressed by the number of products and variants introduced. Introducing the new 40 mm gold models, a smaller 35 mm size and, the icing on the cake, a perpetual calendar, the IWC Ingenieur rises to an extensive and comprehensive collection, proving why IWC Schaffhausen made the right move when green-lighting the contemporary Ingenieur.

Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar 41 mm

The most complicated Ingenieur has been long-awaited and rumoured since last year’s Watches and Wonders. Nonetheless, it makes sense from a historical standpoint since it first appeared.

As Chief Designer Officer Christian Knoop told us in a video interview, his team worked painstakingly to find the right balance of features and proportions in a 13.4 mm thick case so that the new one would offer the same look and feel as the three-hander.

They found the 41 mm size was the landing point. However, it is actually 41.6 mm large. Therefore, don’t get fooled; the size is closer to 42 mm than 41 mm. For their launch edition, IWC went pale blue, the palette that was the most wanted since the 40mm self-winding model appeared and outperformed the other options available.

Like most IWC perpetual calendars, the dial’s layout is clean and quickly recognizable. The days of the week are arranged in a counter at nine (which includes the leap-year display), the days of the month at three instead; finally, the moon phase indication takes place at six (and is as precise as deviating one day in 577.5 years).

Say goodbye to the central running second’s hand.

The Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar adopts the IWC calibre 82600, i.e., an 82650 movement found on a Portofino, minus the central second’s hand. It preserves a sixty-hour power reserve when thoroughly wound and the signature 100-meter water resistance performance.

You can appreciate the calibre via the case back; I would have gone for a brushed ring instead of a polished one, considering the extensive brushed look, where the only polished parts are the bracelet’s mid-links and outer edges.

The Ingenieur Automatic 42 Ceramic

Turning a sports watch in steel into its ceramic-made counterpart is challenging; executing it on a slim sports watch makes the job even harder since proportions are paramount. The list of new iterations includes a stunning new Ingenieur Automatic 42 Ceramic that has required the most significant efforts to preserve the original product’s sleekness.

IWC boasts a long-established expertise in crafting ceramic cases and has pioneered such technology in the industry. The IWC Ingenieur Automatic 42 Ceramic is a full-ceramic watch housing a titanium core to accommodate the calibre and ensure the assembly. Unlike the model once developed by Gerald Genta, please bear in mind that the bezel’s screws hold a functional role.

The bezel, mid-case, and case back’s closing ring are ceramic. The same goes for the crown and its protective shoulders. IWC crafts a full ceramic watch, except for the inner titanium core, which helps preserve the target 100-meter water resistance despite the crown not being screwed down.

The 42 mm large case comes standard with a thickness of 11.6 mm. Overall, it’s an outstanding achievement whose “full-black” look helps preserve that Ingenieur Automatic 40 in steel feel. Interestingly, it adopts a different mechanical movement; the IWC calibre 82110 is based on the 80110 movement adopted by several models like the Aquatimer 2000 and the old-gen Ingenieur. Running at 4 Hz, it has a Pellaton winding system and guarantees sixty hours of power reserve when fully wound.

Ingenieur Automatic 35

Up in size on one hand and slimmed down on the other, the 40 mm Ingenieur now stands between the 42 and the 35 sub-collections. The smaller execution measures 35 mm across and 9.4 mm thick, making it the thinnest Ingenieur available. It is geared first towards a non-European audience or a global unisex one that finds the 40 mm model oversized.

That’s a clever proposition to grow volumes and increase product appreciation. Unsurprisingly, the brand has launched three iterations, two in steel (black or silver dial) and one in red gold. The movement powering them all is the IWC calibre 47110 with a 42-hour power reserve; most likely an IWC-branded take on a sourced mechanical movement offering circular Côtes de Genève decorations and a gold-plated oscillating mass).

Ingenieur Automatic 40 in red gold

Last, two new gold Ingenieur Automatic 40 confirm IWC’s aspiration to elevate the collection’s status as much as possible. The case and bracelet are in red gold and house a classic black grid dial. The outcome is highly refined, as pictured below.

Thanks to an extensive satin finish on the case and bracelet, the red gold-to-black dial combination has a toned-down feel when placed alongside similar executions by competing brands, preserving the steel Ingenieur’s understated look as much as possible. The case size and thickness are 40 mm and 10.4 mm, respectively.

The gold execution shaves three-tenths of a millimetre off the 40-millimetre steel case, the only reason mostly being a flat see-through glass above calibre 32111. Again, this is the first time the 40mm Ingenieur’s movement is displayed through the case back.

(Photo credit: Horbiter®)

Giovanni Maria Di Biase @Horbiter®