It’s deja vu all over again for IWC. Two years ago at Watches & Wonders, the brand debuted, at long last, and after a great deal of anticipation and speculation, a new version of the Ingenieur. The new Ingenieur was effectively the sole focus of the brand’s Watches & Wonders output in 2023 – a fact that underscored the importance of the release for the brand. It was met, at the show, with quite a bit of acclaim. To put it on your wrist and to see and feel the finishing of the case and bracelet in person revealed a watch that was designed to compete with the likes of the Royal Oak and Overseas. Ambitious, perhaps, but not crazy. That said, IWC (and the rest of the watch community) have always known that if the brand was going to offer a true lower priced alternative to those integrated bracelet sports watches, they’d need to fill out the collection with some additional options. And that’s exactly what IWC has done at this year’s Watches & Wonders, dropping a dizzying array of new Ingenieurs in new materials, sizes, and with new complications. 

Here we’ll focus on some of the obvious standouts. First, an Ingenieur that has always seemed like one that was missing from the collection: a variant in full ceramic. The Ingenieur Automatic 42 in black ceramic is exactly what it says on the proverbial tin. This is a slightly larger version of the Ingenieur released a few years back with a modern 42mm case, but much of that increased size is hidden by the deep black tones of the case and bracelet. Every high end sports watch collection has their full ceramic options, now the Ingenieur does as well. In person, this is the one I was most impressed with. IWC does a great job with ceramic and they’ve really shown off their finishing skills here, with polished, satin, and brushed surfaces. 

This watch immediately stands out as the perhaps the sportiest of all Ingenieurs, even moreso than the titanium version released when the Ingenieur was reintroduced. Part of that sportiness also comes from the use of IWC’s 82110 caliber with their Pellaton winding system and ceramic components, a step up from the 3289 used in the 40mm watches. The 3289 is not a bad movement by any means, but many scoffed at the use of a relatively common caliber in a watch at the Ingenieur’s price point when better options were available. Well, better options are here in the form of this ceramic version.

Next up is a bit of a surprise: new 35mm Ingenieurs, including a variant in solid yellow gold. This gold version is great in the metal and works really well on the wrist in a smaller size. The increased weight of the case makes the small seeming watch feel much more in command. It’s also, frankly, just a great size for this case shape, regardless of the metal or of your wrist size. I think it’s pretty clear that IWC wants to market the 35mm Ingenieur to women who may have felt like the 40mm was too big, but I suspect a lot of men will be drawn to the smaller size as well, particularly in gold. 

This week, the Ingenieur also becomes the latest IWC to don a perpetual calendar complication. The perpetual is arguably IWC’s signature complication, popping up in just about every line the brand produces. Their perpetual calendar movement, designed by Kurt Klauss, is somewhat legendary, with all functions set from the crown and an intuitive, easy to read layout. The first Ingenieur with a perpetual calendar is also paired with a bright blue dial, and finds itself in yet another new case size, 41mm. 

With the Ingenieur going from something almost akin to a one-off to full collection overnight, the very idea of the watch warrants a reappraisal. Too often the Ingenieur has been at the front lines of the “It’s Too Expensive” comment wars on Instagram and elsewhere. Seriously, I defy anyone to find a recent Instagram post on the Ingenieur that doesn’t somehow touch on the price discussion. I’ve never really felt it was too expensive because, frankly, it feels as good on the wrist as many watches several times its value. Now, though, that we have the collection built out a bit more, hopefully the conversation can change from griping about the cost to examining what might be possible for this line going forward. IWC