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IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Special Edition Replica Watches Hands-On

The first IWC Ingenieur went on sale some time during the mid-fifties and was designed to be a watch for scientists and technicians. However, the Ingenieur has undergone significant changes in recent years, not just in its design, but also in its purpose. The Ingenieur today is more of sports watch that is targeted at petrolheads and racing enthusiasts, but this trio adopts the more classic case design of pre-Genta models. To further cement the Ingenieur’s positioning as the petrolhead’s watch of choice, IWC released three new small calendar IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Special Edition copy watches last year to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the annual Goodwood Member’s Meeting, a weekend-long vintage racing event.

All images by David Bredan & Ariel Adams

 


When these three watches were unveiled last year, they also heralded a new look for IWC’s Ingenieur. Gone are the integrated lugs, crown protectors, and angular lines inspired by the earlier Ingenieur watches designed by the legendary Gerald Genta. Instead, the new Ingenieur Chronograph features a more classically-styled and restrained case design that has more in common with the very first Ingenieur watches from the ’50s.



 

In the past, the Ingenieur was notable for its self-winding movement, which featured the Pellaton winding system as well as its soft iron cage, which could withstand magnetic fields of up to 80,000 A/m. Said to be designed especially for scientists, researchers, and technicians who had to work in highly magnetic environments, it was to IWC what the Milgauss was to Rolex.


Back to these watches. Case diameter is a relatively modest 42mm, which isn’t too large as far as modern watches go. Most sport chronographs tend to be around 44mm and above these days, so the slightly smaller size of these new Ingenieur Chronograph Special Edition watches is bound to delight readers who love more moderately sized watches. Unfortunately, at slightly over 15mm, the case is still quite thick, a malady that afflicts many modern sport chronographs. On the bright side, this, along with the chunky crown and chronograph pushers, ensures that these special edition Ingenieur Chronograph watches have considerable wrist presence.

 


On the inside, these transparent case back IWC new Ingenieur Chronograph Special Edition fake watches will be powered by IWC’s in-house Caliber 69370. This movement was specifically developed to replace the Valjoux 7750 used in entry-level IWC chronograph watches. As a result, the Caliber 69370 shares the same dimensions as the Valjoux 7750, but with two notable improvements. It features a column wheel instead of a basic cam, and has a more efficient winding system. Power reserve is 46 hours and the dial configuration is similar to the Valjoux 7750, with sub-dials at 12, 9, and 6 o’clock as well. The key difference, however, is that the running seconds of the Caliber 69370 is at 6 o’clock rather than 9 o’clock. The movement is nicely finished and can be admired through a sapphire display case back.

 

The most exclusive of the three is the Ingenieur Chronograph Edition “74th Members’ Meeting at Goodwood.” It features a red gold case and a black dial with red gold accents. The tachymeter scale, which sits on the chapter ring, as well as the markings for the sub-dials, have prints in rose gold. The hour markers are also quite unusual in the sense that they are made up of a lume dot and an applied stick marker. Both are red gold and applied with luminescent material. Time is easily read off the thick baton-style hands, which are also applied with lume.


To distinguish the running seconds hand from the chronograph registers, the running seconds hand is a solid red arrow hand. The hands for the chronograph seconds hand as well as the 12-hour and 30-minute registers are red gold with red tips. Speaking of the 12-hour and 30-minute registers, the last 2 hours and 5 minutes of each respective register is marked in red. This makes the registers look like the fuel gauges of race cars, which turn red as the tank nears empty. There’s an unobtrusive date window at 3 o’clock, which features a black date wheel so that it stands out less from the dial and rose gold fonts for the date. Very cool.

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IWC Celebrates 50 Years of the Aquatimer with New Case Material, Limited-Edition Replica Watches

With the release this month of the IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month Edition “50 Years Aquatimer fake watches,” limited to just 50 pieces worldwide, the Schaffhausen-based IWC brand not only commemorates the 50th anniversary of its Aquatimer divers’ watch in grand style, but also punches its ticket to the exclusive (but steadily growing) club of watch companies that have introduced new materials into watchmaking.

IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month Edition “50Yrs Aquatimer” – reclining

The new material in question is called Ceratanium, and it is — as one might glean from its name — a composite of ceramic and titanium, boasting the hardness and scratch-resistance of the former while also retaining the latter’s lightness and unbreakability; its distinctive matte-black surface also scores high for skin tolerance and corrosion resistance. IWC’s materials experts spent five years developing this alloy, and the desired result was achieved in time to debut it on this special edition celebrating the half-century mark for the Aquatimer, a pioneer among dive watches when it debuted in 1967 with its 200-meter water resistance and internal rotating bezel. The combination of ceramic and titanium in a new composite material is also apt, as IWC played a major role in bringing both materials to watchmaking in the 1980s.

The watch’s matte-black Ceratanium case is 49 mm in diameter and 19.5 mm thick, with a convex sapphire crystal over the dial that has been treated with nonreflective coating on both sides. Like all models in the Aquatimer collection since its revamp in 2014, it features an external/internal rotating bezel for setting dive times, paired with IWC’s proprietary SafeDive system, which ensures that the internal bezel can only be adjusted once the external bezel is rotated counterclockwise, thus preventing accidental movement of the dive scale and adding an extra layer of protection for a diver keeping track of his air supply underwater. The black rubber strap is outfitted with a quick-change system that enables the wearer to easily swap it out with another strap.

IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month Edition “50 Yrs” – back

The dial, which is also predominantly black, with white and red highlights, displays this timepiece’s array of complications. The date and month are indicated in large numerals in the style of a digital watch, and because the watch is a perpetual calendar, it automatically recognizes the different lengths of months and even leap years, so no adjustments will need to be made to the date until 2100, provided the watch is kept running. In addition to the perpetual calendar, the watch is equipped with a flyback chronograph function, with elapsed hours and minutes tallied in a single subdial at 12 o’clock.

IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month Edition “50 Yrs” copy watches with black buckle

The movement that drives all of these functions is IWC’s manufacture Caliber 89802, which for this timepiece has had several of its components — including its winding rotor — finished with black coating to harmonize with the overall matte black look. Visible behind a sapphire exhibition caseback, this self-winding movement has 51 jewels, a 28,800-vph frequency, and a 68-hour power reserve.

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Close-Up: Rolex Yacht-Master in Rolesium Replica Watches

The charming blue dial Rolex Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master copy watch, a sailors’ watch introduced in 1992, underwent a major facelift recently in both its design and technology. In 2012, Rolex released a version with an Oyster case made of its patented alloy Rolesium, and a cool, blue dial with brushed sunray pattern.

Rolesium, a material developed by Rolex and used here in the Yacht-Master’s 40-mm diameter Oyster case, is an alloy of 904L stainless steel and platinum. The bezel, which rotates in both directions and now has a notched ring with 120 gradations, is made entirely of 950 platinum. It has a smooth, sand-blasted finish, except for the raised numerals and indices, which are polished. The hour markers on the nautical-looking blue dial are made of 18k white gold and filled with a luminescent material called Chromalight, which gives off a strong, blue-tinted glow in the dark. Rolex’s traditional Oyster case — with a middle piece crafted from a solid block of the corrosion-resistant alloy and a fluted, hermetically screwed caseback — is water-resistant to 100 meters. The screw-down crown is protected by a crown guard built into the middle case and also features the patented Triplock water-proofing system. Another Rolex trademark — the “Cyclops” magnifying lens over the date, is found at 3 o’clock and made of highly scratch-resistant synthetic sapphire.

Inside the Yacht-Master beats Rolex’s manufacture Caliber 3135, an automatic movement that has been certified by the Swiss testing agency COSC as a chronometer. Like other Rolex movements, it features an oscillating system with a blue hairspring made of Parachrom, an alloy developed and patented by Rolex. According to the company, this hairspring is highly resistant to shocks, magnetic fields and temperature variations, which ensures greater stability in timekeeping precision.

A sold-link Oyster bracelet in 904L stainless steel completes the package, with polished center links and satin-finished outer links. The improved Oysterlock safety clasp, another patented Rolex development, has a security system to prevent accidental opening and also contains the Easylink quick-extension technology, which lets the wearer easily increase the bracelet length by about 5 mm. Technical specs for the big calendar Rolex Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master fake watches (retail price: $11,550) can be found below the photo.

MOVEMENT
Rolex manufacture Caliber 3135, bidirectional self-winding via perpetual rotor; COSC-certified chronometer; 31 jewels; frequency = 28,800 vph (4 Hz); Paramagnetic blue Parachrom hairspring with Breguet overcoil; large balance wheel with variable inertia;h igh-precision regulating via four gold Microstella nuts; traversing balance bridge

FUNCTIONS:
Central hour, minute and seconds hands; instantaneous date at 3 o’clock with quick setting; stop-seconds function for precise time setting

CASE
Oyster (monobloc middle case, screw-down caseback and winding crown) made of Rolesium (combination of 904L stainless steel superalloy and 950 platinum); polished finish; diameter = 40 mm; bidirectional rotating bezel made of 950 platinum, sand-blasted finish, polished raised graduations; screw-down crown with crown guard and Triplock triple water-proofing system; scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with Cyclops lens over date and double nonreflective coating; water-resistant to 100 meters; stainless-steel Oyster bracelet with polished center links and satin-finished outer links with polished edges; folding Oysterlock safety clasp with Easylink 5-mm extension

DIAL & HANDS
Blue dial with sunray finish, 18k white-gold hands and appliques with Chromalight for long-lasting luminescence, red seconds hand

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On the Wrist Review: IWC Ingenieur Double Chronograph 3865 Replica Watches

It is quite amazing how one person can have such an enduring impact on an industry. It is unparalleled to be so influential that the DNA of their designs are embedded in so many different watches, from a wide array of brands. I, of course, am referring to Gerald Genta. In 1976, after having already penned the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Patek Philippe Nautilus, Gerald Genta re-designed the Ingenieur for IWC, dubbed the Ingenieur SL.

This was at the height of the “quartz crisis”, however, and the Ingenieur SL was a flop with just about 550 pieces sold.

Evolution of the Ingenieur

Over the years to come, IWC introduced various references of the Ingenieur with quartz and mecha-quartz movements until, finally, the model was again refreshed with an in-house automatic movement in 2005. The evolution continued when in 2013, to mark their partnership with Formula 1 team Mercedes AMG, IWC introduced several models with racing inspired designs and high-tech materials.

These watches ranged from a simple time-only sports watch to serious haute horology with a constant-force tourbillon. It was at this time that IWC also debuted the calendar Ingenieur Double Chronograph Titanium copy watches, reference 3865. This watch was true to the Formula 1 design ethos with a titanium case and functional bezel screws made from ceramic. However, the standout of this piece, is the double chronograph movement allowing you to time intervals with the press of a rubber-clad pusher.

Powering the Double Chronograph

The movement inside the Ingenieur Double Chronograph is a unique modification of the Valjoux 7750 that is protected by an anti-magnetic soft-iron cage. In 1992 Richard Habring invented a module that would bring the split-second chronograph complication to a much more attainable price level and integrated it to the 7750 calibre. What all this means is you get a reliable, tried and true base movement, that has been through the wringer in countless watches for over 40 years, and a high-end complication to boot. Hard to beat the horological bang-for-your-buck offered here.

If you’re not familiar with the split-second chronograph function, here is an explanation from IWC:

Unlike a standard chronograph, the split-seconds chronograph has two hands that start simultaneously. The rattrapante or split-seconds hand, which is superimposed on the stopwatch hand, can be stopped independently using a third button at “10 o’clock”, while the stopwatch hand continues to run. This permits the user to record two separate times, precisely to the second, within any given minute. If the third button is pushed again, the split-seconds hand instantaneously catches up and is synchronized with the other hand. The process can be repeated as often as desired.

IWC’s design of the chronograph pushers is great in this execution. They are low-profile and shaped to mimic the outline of the case so they are very unobtrusive. In many rattrapante watches the pushers can be a bit gaudy.

The unidirectional winding automatic rotor in the Valjoux 7750 is notorious for it’s characteristic “wobble” and loud clicks as it spins the mainspring up to 44 hours of power reserve. Some collectors find this trait endearing, while others find it quite annoying. Regardless of your point of view on that issue, IWC has somehow managed to eliminate the wobble and almost completely silence the spinning of the rotor, resulting in a smooth and unnoticeable winding operation.

Case Design

After IWC finishes their modifications, the movement is placed inside a 45mm wide, 16mm high case rated to be water resistant to 120 meters. There is no doubt that this is a large sport oriented watch but, fortunately, because of the titanium construction it doesn’t feel oversized and is actually comfortable to wear all day. If the case was steel, you’d certainly need a break at some point. The tapered rubber strap is integrated into the case at an angle that allows it to conform to your wrist with almost no pressure points. I would have preferred a deployant clasp to the tang buckle that comes on the watch but, that is certainly not a show-stopper.

Wearing the Ingenieur

In daily-wear, this really is a fun watch. The silvered three-dimensional dial is far from boring; with black applied indexes that create a stark contrast making it very easy to read the time at a glance. This is further enhanced by the sapphire crystal treated with an anti-reflective coating on both sides. In addition to the split-second function, the chronograph keeps track of time for up to 12 hours via two sub dials, and there is a quick-change day and date indication for good measure. As I alluded to earlier, the chrono pushers, screw-down crown, and crown guards are all clad in rubber, making them easy to grip and use. The  luminescent hands IWC fake wacthes will totally change your life.

I’ve been doing hands-on reviews for a few years now but, I experienced something for the very first time with this watch: I didn’t wear any other watches while I had it. From the moment I received it, to the painful departure when I sent it back, I was obsessed with this watch. IWC has built a surefire winner with this one. A few years ago IWC had the marketing slogan, “Engineered for Men.”