Advanced Technology Meets Tradition: 3 new IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Special Editions at Goodwood with the new in-house 69370 movement

The 74th edition of the Goodwood Member Meeting marks the rebirth of the classic Ingenieur design in three special editions of the Ingenieur Chronograph. The new IWC Ingenieur Chronograph features the new in-house calibre 69370, and will be launched at the 74th edition of the Goodwood Member Meeting.

“ENGINEERS OF TIME”

The history of the IWC Ingenieur watches as described in the book “IWC Schaffhausen engineering Time since 1868” by Fritz, Coelho, and Bilal starts with this phrase. Engineers were highly regarded back in the 1950s, so IWC named an entire watch family after them, as a tribute to invention, performance and technological advancement. The evolution of the watch via continuous improvement between the mid fifties until the mid eighties embodies the engineering spirit of the company. The Classic Ingenieur movement did go through various cycles. It started with a calibre 852, then a 853(1) and last-but-not-least, the cal. 854(1). The latter has remained a engineering highlight until today.

When you say “Ingenieur” you say “Albert Pellaton”. Pellaton, who assumed the job of Technical Director in 1945, is probably best known for his invention of the unique Pellaton winding system. It was Pellaton who started the quest for a movement that was better from the start than anything before. The story goes (see the book) that Pellaton threw a box full of half- and full-finished movements in the river Rhine as a starting point for this quest. Pellaton’s invention was very important to IWC. Durability and wear resistance improved greatly. His invention transformed rotary movement into lateral movement by attaching a cam instead of a gear wheel to an easily removable rotor. Energy is transferred to the barrel through the pinion of the pawl winding wheel and two supplementary winding wheels without intermediate coupling.

However, Pellaton is more than the man of the revolutionary winding system. In many ways, he embodied the engineering spirit of IWC. Did you know that Pellaton was a big admirer of cars and racing? Amongst others, he developed a special timepiece for the 1936 Swiss Grand Prix in Berne.  So in a way, with IWC sponsoring the Goodwood Member Meeting and the launch of three special editions of the Ingenieur Chronograph, the circle is completed.  So when you see a classic photo of a Silver Arrow or other classic car, envision that Albert Pellaton is driving that car or measuring the time of each lap.

COMING AT FULL CIRCLE

60 years have passed since IWC introduced its first automatic, antimagnetic watch, the Ingenieur, housing a calibre 85 movement with the Pellaton winding system – the 8541 calibre is one of the best movements that IWC ever produced in its long history. The IWC Ingenieur timepieces have always been highly reliable, functional and sturdy watches. To me the classic Ingenieurs represent ‘functionality’ in its purest form: it is all about function without unnecessary parts. A watch that can be worn under difficult circumstances, and one that is accurate, reliable and tough.

As Larry Seiden, Marco Schönenberger and David ter Molen wrote in their famous article The IWC Ingenieur: Dial Variations in Vintage (Cal 85XX) Models, there were many dial variations. Pie Pan dials, flat dials, dauphin hands, baton hands, minute markers at various places, arrowhead hour markers, arabic numeral hour markers, rectangular hour markers: all can be found. That is not the result of a massive production (in fact, the older Ingenieurs are quite rare), but rather of variations.

The classic design of the case and dial of the new Ingenieur Chronographs resemble that of Ingenieur 666AD, but in a modern outfit and with additional functions. Obviously there are differences too: a see-through caseback, and no special protection against magnetic fields other than what we are used to in modern watches.

Some sources for further reading about the classic Ingenieurs:

• http://www.frizzellweb.com/larry/ingenieur/
• http://www.iwc.com/en/news/more-in-house-expertise-from-schaffhausen/
• Book; IWC Schaffhausen engineering Time since 1868” by Fritz, Coelho, and Bilal

3 new IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Special Editions at Goodwood

IWC announced three special editions of the Ingenieur Chronograph:

The IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Edition “74th Members’ Meeting at Goodwood” (Ref. IW380703) has been developed for the 74th edition of the Goodwood Member Meeting. It is therefore limited to 74 watches. The solid red gold case measures 42 millimetres in diameter, which is a perfect sizor this type of watch. What immediately strikes you is the classic design of case and dial tha arinispired by the classic Ingenieurs of the mid 50s to 70s. The black dial with two totalizers, small seconds and tachymeter scale running round the outer edge is inspired by a sports car. Likewise, the design of the brown calfskin strap likewise is inspired by interior of classic motor cars.

The Ingenieur Chronograph Edition “Rudolf Caracciola”(Ref. IW380702) is dedicated to racing driver Rudolf Caracciola,who took three European Drivers’ Championship crowns in the 1930s. The stainless-steel case, rhodium-plated hands and slate-coloured dial give the watch a more technical look. The dial emulates the instrument look of the historic racing cars. This watch also features a brown calfskin strap, and is limited to 750 watches.

The Ingenieur Chronograph Edition “W 125” (Ref. IW380701) builds on the theme of the Mercedes-Benz W 125 Silver Arrow.

This racing car -designed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut – dominated racing in the late 1930s. The titanium case, silver-plated dial and black hands and appliqués, together with the black calfskin strap, should remind the fortunate owner of this watch to the controls of a W 125. This timepiece is also limited to 750 watches

THE IWC INGENIEUR CHRONOGRAPH 69370 MOVEMENT

All editions are powered by the new IWC-manufactured 69370 calibre. It is the first version of the 69000- calibre family for entr-level watches. According to Thomas Gäumann, Head of In-House Movement Development at IWC Schaffhausen, this new in-house movement expertise sets new standards regarding quality, ruggedness and reliability. The column-wheel chronograph movement comprises more than 200 components. It is 30 millimetres in diameter and 7.9 millimetres high. After 1,123 revolutions of the rotor, the bidirectional pawl-winding system has built up a power reserve of 46 hours. The balance oscillates at a rate of 4 Hz and should  guarantee a high level of precision. The movement has 33 jewels, and decorations consisting of Geneva stripes and circular graining.

SPECIFICATIONS

The three lmited editions share the same movement and sizes. The difference is in the materials used and colours of case, dial, buckle and strap as well as the number of watches produced.

Common features:

• Functions: date display – stopwatch function with hours, minutes, seconds – smal hacking seconds – screw-in crown – see-through sapplire glass back
• Movement: Mechanical chronograph movement calibre 69370 – 28,800 A/h 4hz – 33 jewels – power reserve 46 hours – automatic pawl winding
• Glass: sapphire, convex, antireflective coating on both sides
• Water resistant to 6 bar
• Diameter 42mm
• Height 15mm

Case, dial and strap:

• Reference IW380703: Red gold case, red gold hands and appliqués, black dial, brown calfskin, red-gold pin buckle. Limited to 74 watches.
• Ref IW380702: Stainless steel case, rhodiumplated hands and appliqués, slate- coloured dial, brown calfskin strap, stainless-steel pin blucke, Limited to 750 watches.
• Ref IW380701: Titanium case, black hands and appliqués, silver-plated dial, black calfskin strap, titanium pin blucke, Limited to 750 watches.

Prices are unknown yet. Expected availability: autumn 2016

SOME WORDS ABOUT THE EVENT

We will be back with a more elaborate report with photos so this paragraph aims to give you an introduction. The 74th Goodwood Members’ Meeting takes place on 19 and 20 March at the Goodwood racetrack and estate. From 1949 to 1966, Goodwood Members’ Meetings were run more than once a year over the 3.8-kilometre circuit at Goodwood House, the estate of Lord March, near the south coast of England. After a lengthy break, Lord March revived the event in 2014 to celebrate the atmosphere and camaraderie of the historic Members’ Meetings once more. IWC Schaffhausen has been the OfficialTiming Partner of the exclusive event since 2015.

The 12 races held over the weekend can be viewed live on our website. IWC Schaffhausen shipped the  W196 and W25 Silver Arrows to England especially for the event (see our earlier report). The cars require skilled drivers. Two-time FORMULA ONE World Champion Mika Häkkinen, Le Mans winner Jochen Mass, former FORMULA ONE and German Touring Car Masters driver Karl Wendlinger and Bernd Schneider, who holds the record for the most German Touring Car Masters championships, will drive the cars.

Stay tuned for more news about the movement, the watches, and the event! We will share lots of photos and all information we can get during the event.

As said, feel free to share your questions and we will try to get them answered during the event.