One of the most talked about launches of 2023 was the rebirth of the Ingenieur. And, what makes this watch so exciting is that IWC returned its design to that of Gérald Genta’s 1976 SL edition (don’t forget the Ingenieur existed before Genta’s SL, and it has had many iterations since). But Genta is of course the legend who penned AP’s Royal Oak (in 1972) and Patek’s Nautilus (in 1976), yet his luxury steel sportswatch for IWC never enjoyed commercial success. Well, at least not in its day. You see, demand was so low that after just a thousand pieces, IWC pulled the plug on it. Nevertheless, in the last decade there has been such an increase in demand for Genta’s reference at vintage watch auctions that IWC has been moved to resurrect it, albeit in a new form. That’s why we sat down with Walter Volpers, the brand’s Associate Director of Product Management Technics, as we needed to understand more on this watch.
Why do you think Genta’s Ingenieur did not achieve the success it deserved?
Icons aren’t created, they develop over time and with the right support. There are many times when we’re standing before a product and we see its life cycle management is decaying and we must decide: do we push it, or do we redesign it. Sometimes you decide to let it fall and try again. At the end of the day, even if you have an iconic design, it still requires work over the years, or you risk losing the magic of the novelty. Many of the iconic Genta designs have come close to being cancelled but the difference is that the brands that manufacture them decided to push them. At IWC, we have six product lines, which is a great thing but there’s also a downside in that some of the lines might lose heat, as you don’t have unlimited resources to allocate everywhere. But, what we have done for the Ingenieur is a reawakening of a heritage model.
This reawakening sees the Ingenieur go back to Genta’s vision but with some new details, tell us what they are.
Our aim wasn’t to just bring a heritage piece back from the past, rather it was to bring an iconic watch into the modern times. It’s back to the future. We have used several manufacturing techniques that weren’t possible in the 1970s. For example, the central links on the H-link bracelet are polished on either side and this is very elaborate and time consuming. The bracelet was also narrowed, and the horns swapped for a re-engineered, movable middle-link. It’s tapered now too for more comfort and is available with either a butterfly clasp or one that has an easy micro-adjuster. And I should mention that the original Ingenieur didn’t have screws like this one does, it had holes for a five-pin spanner. Additionally, the old one had a totally flat glass but this one’s a little arched because we decided to curve the case ring a little to help it sit more comfortably on the wrist. The proportions have been improved, and there’s now a crown protection for the first time. Finally, the original grid-style dial is more prominent and luminous. In the end, it took four years and hundreds of different protypes to perfect the new Ingenieur.
We think it’ll be popular among both sexes and our favourite is the titanium.
I think titanium is a very cool material, not least because it rapidly matches the temperature of the body, so you won’t feel it. Plus, it weighs approximately 50 per cent less. And I love the tone on tone look of our titanium model.
Are you starting to think ahead in terms of complications and new materials?
We are very conservative in terms of developing the Ingenieur. This is an icon, so we want to re-establish it, we want the market to get it. We know demand is outstripping supply so we need to ramp up production and only then will we start to think about innovations. Of course, we’re a very innovative company too and we are looking ahead by three to five years, so we know what’s coming, and there are very cool things, but let’s go step by step. As I said before an icon needs time to mature.
Many people now want to complete the troika of an octagonal Royal Oak, a squarish Nautilus and a round Ingenieur, so you’re in good company.
We knew we needed patience to do it right. In the end, it took many iterations, many grey hairs, many late nights, many fights with suppliers to get it all right, but we’re very proud.
