BaselWorld 2008: IWC Vintage Ingenieur Automatic Watch

PRESS RELEASE --

The IWC Ingenieur Automatic of 1955: No watch has defined the "technical" profile of IWC quite like the Ingenieur, which was introduced in 1955 and which was the first watch to feature the IWC automatic movement developed by Albert Pellaton. With its pawl-winding system and the spring-mounted rotor, it has remained a benchmark for watch technology at the highest level - while retaining the ultimate degree of toughness.

This programmatic watch, which exemplifies the watchmaking engineering of the Schaffhausen manufacturer, launched IWC into the modern era. An icon of a quality consciousness handed down since 1868, it has remained in the product range under a number of guises. In 1989, a legendary model, the Ingenieur 500,000 A/m, set a world record with its antimagnetic components for the resistance of a mechanical watch against the most extreme magnetic fields.

Half a century after its first appearance, IWC's watchmaking icon was fundamentally revised. That which more than 50 years ago ensured toughness and reliability in the Ingenieur - first as the 8531 and later as the 8541 calibre - today finds its logical evolution in the IWC-manufactured 80110 and 80111 calibre. The Ingenieur Automatic is equipped with this unit, which also drives the "new" Ingenieur, presented in 2005. The vintage watch features a 42.5-millimetre case and one of the most stylish Ingenieur dials - with the point-stroke indices (the luminescent material forms the point) and the dauphine-style hands.

This model is today a collector's rarity of the very highest order. The modern homage to this watch monument dispenses with the soft iron case of the original, thus affording an insight into the IWC-manufactured movement. With the anti-reflective, crossed out sapphire glass over the dial and the screw-in crown, the new Vintage Ingenieur is water-resistant to 12 bar.


TECHNICAL DATA

Features
Homage to the first Ingenieur with automatic movement from 1955,
with the 80111-calibre movement successor with Pellaton winding system,
platinum model limited to 500 watches

Movement
Calibre 80111
Vibrations 28,800/h / 4 Hz
Jewels 28
Power reserve 44 h
Winding automatic

Case
Materials platinum, stainless steel
Glass sapphire, crossed out, antireflective
Back sapphire glass
Dial silver-plated, black
Water-resistant 12 bar
Diameter 42.5mm
Height 14.5mm

Weight
Watch in platinum with black crocodile leather strap 163 g
Watch in stainless steel with black crocodile leather strap 99 g