The New IWC Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar 41 (Incl. Video)

IWC’s stellar piece for Watches & Wonders is the Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar, the first complication to join the family since it was revamped in 2023. What’s more, the 41mm Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar is the first stainless steel model at IWC to bear the names of two legends in the world of watchmaking. Evoking the imprint of Gérald Genta’s 1976 design for the Ingenieur, the watch is powered by the famous perpetual calendar module developed by Kurt Klaus for the brand.

Sometimes, moving forward in the watch world means going back in time. A good case in point is IWC’s Ingenieur, which was revisited in 2023 to rekindle the spirit of Gérald Genta’s 1976 design. The Ingenieur was released in the mid-1950s as a classic-looking tool watch fitted with a soft-iron cage to protect the movement from magnetism. Having produced designs for the Royal Oak and the Nautilus, Genta’s vision for IWC’s watch materialised in 1976 as the Ingenieur SL Jumbo Automatic 1832 with a round, chunky 40mm case with a thickness of 14mm, an integrated bracelet and five screws securing the bezel to the case.

Following an overhaul in 2023 to recover the original Genta spirit of the watch without producing a replica, the more sophisticated lines and finishings of the Ingenieur Automatic 40 laid the groundwork for the new Perpetual Calendar. Almost identical in size to Genta’s model, the stainless steel case has a diameter of 41.6mm and a thickness of 13.4mm. Its barrel-shaped case, round bezel attached by five functional sunken screws and integrated H-link bracelet are also inherited from Genta’s “Jumbo” but display a higher level of finishings for a more luxurious experience.

Viewed from the top, the satin-brushed finishes underscore the Ingenieur’s sporty nature, while the crisp polished bevels of the case and the outer edges of the bracelet’s links attract the light and highlight its profile. Thanks to the middle-link attachment, the bracelet flows seamlessly from the case; however, the butterfly clasp is not equipped with a micro-adjustment system. Fitted with sapphire crystals front and back, the 100m water-resistance is safeguarded by the screw-down crown and lightly flared crown guards.

The grid dial is another key Genta genetic marker, adapted to our times. Using negative relief on the dial base, the grid pattern alternates between blocks of four rectangular bars and more compact blocks composed of 12 small squares. The colour chosen for the dial is a bright, almost metallic blue that works exceptionally well with the steel case. The three blue sub-dials – day of the week and leap year at 9 o’clock, date at 3 o’clock and months and perpetual moon phases at 6 o’clock – are decorated with a snailed outer track, white printings and circular sunray-brushed interiors. The metal indices with Super-LumiNova are applied by hand to the peripheral, snailed flange and are suspended over the dial. The rhodium-plated hour and minute hands are also treated with SLN. A curiosity about this watch is the absence of a seconds hand.

In the early 1980s, IWC’s head watchmaker Kurt Klaus set out to translate the many irregularities of the Gregorian calendar into a mechanical programme for a wristwatch. In line with IWC’s pragmatic approach to engineering, his innovative perpetual calendar contained very few parts (81), and all its displays could be adjusted via the crown. Making its debut in 1985 with the Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar, Klaus’ perpetual calendar will only need one correction in 2100.

Furthermore, the moon phase display is so precise that it deviates from the actual phase of the Moon by just one day after 577.5 years. Fitted with the highly efficient Pellaton automatic winding system, the IWC automatic Calibre 82600 uses zirconium oxide ceramic for high-stress components and delivers a robust 60-hour power reserve. It is decorated with circular graining, Geneva stripes and blued screws. The price of the Ingeniuer Perpetual Calendar 41 is EUR 40,900.

For more information, please visit Iwc.com.