IWC Ingenieur | A Week On The Wrist 

Do you have the same feelings about the premium charged for a Submariner vs an OP? Same movement in both.

​​@@wsrobert32Good point! Although, with the Sub, you get a glide lock clasp, triple lock screw down crown, rotating bezel, better lume, more water resistance, and a date if desired.

​@@wsrobert32but besides the movement a sub functionally does more than an OP. Higher water resistance, ceramic bezel, arguably better clasp. Comparing the Ingenieur to the Mark XX (which I own and love), you have the same movement, same water resistance, same features/complications, and inferior clasp. I am truly interested in the Ingenieur and would gladly buy one exactly as is for a lower price. At its current price, it's hard to ignore the Zenith Defy, Bvlgari OF, Chopard AE, and GP Laureato. To get to the price that IWC wants from these with this movement I'd love to see a few minor tweaks: supreme anti-magnetism (make it the best in this regard), 1-2 mm quick adjust link on each side of the clasp, open caseback, gold/skeletonized rotor, and included rubber strap with EasXchange.

And the name you're paying for is only the guy who inspired this new version, which was designed in-house by IWC. It's a bit like VW slapping a premium on the sticker of every Golf it sells because it's an update of a Giugiaro design from 1974.

No that's a horrible analogy.

Indeed sir

Horrible price point!

Crown guards ruin the symmetry of the case though, not a good design choice if you ask me

@@laimejannister5627not everything is about symmetry

They are just hyping it up, which this watch totally doesn’t deserve given the movement they put into it and its price-tag.

Haha, they can restrict supply of this watch all they want. For that movement, I’m not paying retail. It’s worth half as much on a good day

And now in April of 2024 you can buy one on the grey market at a discount. Huge fail by IWC - they could have priced it appropriately and had a massive success.

100%. The Royal Oak is just not an attractive watch.

I agree

Have you handled any of these watches in person? RO is on another planet

100% agree

Yup agree. I just don't get the appeal of the RO.

At its current price, it's hard to ignore the Zenith Defy, Bvlgari OF, Chopard AE, and GP Laureato.

Compared to mark xx, Finishing on case and bracelet are superior on the ingenieur, dial superior. GP, Zenith, Chopard are all more expensive and not as appealing looking in my opinion. It's a hobby and hobbies are money pits, buy whatever makes you hear music

No actual proof of the bm, just internet misinformation

Have you lived with both watches? Where does your "head and shoulders better" assessment come from

@@divertiti Allow me to enlighten you: The Laureato has a level of watchmaking that the Ingenieur doesn't even come close to, and a level of finishing that IWC doesn't achieve even in more expensive models. In addition, the movement (despite IWC claims) is Richemont's replacement for the 2982 (although technically not based on it) and we cannot of course see it (probably for the best). IWC may claim this is in order to enhance anti-magnetism, but there are open case back watches out there with pretty high magnetism tolerances. The GP01800 on the other hand is a bone fide in-house movement with a level of finishing that is definitely worthy of its price. The dial finishing on the Laureato is really great, while I find the Ingenieur to be less elaborate. As to the pattern of the dial, that can be up to personal taste. Not sure what you mean by "live" with both watches, but I have had the opportunity to handle both, including different iterations of the Laureato. I hope that answers your question.

IWC does offer an adjustable clasp for it as an option. Same one from the Mark XX that is among the best clasps in the business. However, it should be standard instead of a small upcharge....and they need to make and throw in a rubber strap option.

This is probably worth about 4K. Look at the offerings from zenith (defy classic and sky) in the 5-7k range. This IWC is certainly inferior, both aesthetically and mechanically.

For the price they’re asking you really be better spend on a GP Laureato. More prestigious brand (same league as JLC, Blancpain, Breguet) and overall a better looking watch.

If you're going to play in the same price bracket as Rolex, you'd better be prepared to compete with Rolex. And this thing doesn't.

Totally agree!

Great point. Ming is awesome

Found it! Type into google: Todd Snyder SUN-FADED MIDWEIGHT POCKET SWEATSHIRT IN ARMY GREEN

Even that’s a stretch. Yema makes essentially the same watch with an in house caliber for $900…

Couldn’t afford rent because of the price of the ingeneur

There are rumors, that they'll change the name in :"Reading a specs sheet with the watch on a wrist". It would definitely fit better to the latest reviews.

Nah, if I can’t afford RO, I would get PRX instead and save tons of $$$ 😂 that’s my plan anyway. The ingenieur is slowly growing on me, didn’t like it at first. Might consider it but not at the current price.

@@frankygamaliano7058 That's actually what I did about a year ago. I liked it very much for about 6 months. Then I started feeling that "this is NOT RO". So I sold it and accepted about $100 loss. That was a good experience I do not regret. I'm so glad I didn't make the same mistake on Ingenieur, Laureato, or Alpine Eagle.

He and James Stacey are Hodinkee's only chance to claw back to where they were. Too many big names lost, have to reel some in like this.

More like $5k too high.... That's what will hold it back, not the timing.

An argument can be made that this watch actually has less features than the Riviera (quick release bracelet for example) which has the identical movement.

@@marker20 it’s an absolute nonsense. There is no way the dial the case and the bracelet is worth $9000 more. If you said it was a couple of thousand dollars then maybe. it’s ridiculous.

Same applies to all luxury watches, Rolex, Omega, Patel, etc They are expensive because they have to pay for marketing, celebrities, swiss labour, etc

@@coffeeboyclips1973 I don't disagree with that but a Speedmaster Pro was $3k a few years ago. Now people will say... "adjusted for inflation", there was hardly any inflation since 2007 and the financial crisis and interest rates (the risk free rate in discounting or forecasting value of money) was nearly 0 until last year. Definitely no major wage inflation either. The fact that the price has doubled is mostly down to foreign money getting interested in watches exactly because rates and inflation has been zero for such a long time i.e. nowhere to put your money in. Omega picked their target clientele and left Europeans unable to compete for a Speedy (or any other watch) with the Chinese or the Arabs. I don't blame them, just don't pretend that any watch is "reasonable" at $6k (or $13k for this IWC... for what?).

​@@nautakiit's just how the market is, I can't see prices dropping on watches. There is a lot of money out there and watch companies know people are buying their watches at those prices.