Watches Blog Wrist Watch Reviews

Here is a short review of my Ingenieur ref.3227 after exactly 3 months of ownership.I dont think its necessary to give background information on this watch, as I have done this in the past (here and here) and you can read all about the vintage Ingenieurs (including the 1976s SL) on this page by Larry Seiden, Marco Schoenenberger and David ter Molen.Although this purchase might seemed as an impulse three months ago, I always had a weak spot for the IWC Ingenieur. The packaging and the manuals that come with this watch are very nice. The black box with its leather interior keeps the watch in place perfectly. However, who is going to use it anyway once you put the watch around your wrist? The w [...]

IWC introduced the stainless steel Ingenieur with integrated steel bracelet in 1976, designed by Gerald Genta. Last week, during the SIHH 2013, IWC again introduced the Ingenieur collection. One of them, Ingenieur ref.3239 comes very close to the original Genta designed Ingenieur, according to IWC. If you are a regular reader here on Fratellowatches, you can probably skip the next few sentences.Gerald Genta, one of the first dedicated and independent watch designers (he was on the OMEGA payroll for a long time) designed the Royal Oak 5402ST in 1972. Audemars Piguet asked him to come up with an all stainless steel luxury watch. Rumour is, that this was an overnight request and that he deliver [...]

2012 was IWCs year of their Pilots watch. The introduction party of the new Pilot collection during the SIHH in Geneva last year has been topic of several discussions. Whether it was positive or not, at least IWC got everyones attention for the Pilot collection. Here in The Netherlands, we had our own introduction day of the new IWC (TOP Gun) Pilot collection. A report of that day can be found by clicking here.Just before IWC is ready to launch the new Ingenieur collection in the next coming weeks at SIHH 2013, we look back at the Pilot collection with IWCs Creative Director, Christian Knoop. I sat down with Mr Knoop in the Dylan hotel in Amsterdam and asked him the following questions:Mr Kn [...]

Me and Mr Jones.we got a thing goin'onThe song, Me and Mrs. Jones, was a song originally performed by Billy Paul back in 1972. It alludes to the extramarital relationship between a man and his lover Mrs Jones.My relationship with F.A. Jones is more wholesome. Florentine Ariosto Jones was the American entrepreneur who founded the International Watch Company back in 1868. IWC have produced many beguiling timepieces since its inception.However, one that got away, was a limited edition hand-wound Portuguese F.A. Jones I saw a few years ago. The watch was available in different metals, but my favourite had a white dial and blued Breguet hands. It reminded me of my innocent youth as an angelic cho [...]

For IWC, 2009 is the year of the Aquatimer relaunch. IWCs first Aquatimer saw daylight in 1967 and I doubt that one of these first models ever saw some water, because they didnt look very water resistant. However, looks might be deceiving because IWC claimed it to be water resistant to 200 meters. Anyway, between 1967 and now, IWC has had several sports watches (GST, Ocean, Aquatimer) suitable for use below the surface.The new line of Aquatimers have been presented at SIHH 2009 and a number of jewelers organized introduction events for their customers (click here for the Ace Jewelers presentation earlier this year). One of my personal favorites this year, is the IWC Aquatimer Chronograph Edi [...]

This is what happens if you put 5 fans of G rald Genta designs in one room. Yesterday, our very own watch photographer Bert invited us over to his crib for the perfect BBQ (no vegetables) and show all our Genta stuff while enjoying good food and drinks.As you can see, we brought the usual suspects. 2x Patek Philippe Nautilus 3700/1A, 2x Nautilus 5711/1A, 1x Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 5402ST, 1x Royal Oak 14802 and 2x a Royal Oak 15202ST. All considered to be the Jumbo models as designed by G rald Genta. On top of that, there were some deviations of the original models such as the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph 26300, the Royal Oak Lady and an IWC Ingenieur SL Automatic in gold. All the [...]

Yesterday, IWC introduced their new Pilot collection of watches at Airport Eelde in The Netherlands. Besides the product presentation, done by their Head of Design, there was also one of the TOP GUN pilots explaining to us how important time is for a pilot.In the picture above you see RJ pretending he is a TOP GUN pilot in a jet. In fact, the watch on his wrist is the actual watch of the TOP GUN pilot that was present during the event.IWC restyled a hangar, with two very nice planes (a Spitfire and a L39 jet), lovely stewardesses and a great bar and a long table with room for everyone to enjoy a superb lunch. Friend of the brand Michiel Borstlap (proudly wearing a Big Pilot) made sure there [...]

Ask any watch collector to name a few classic chronographs and no doubt that there will be a IWC Flieger Chronograph between the Speedmasters and Daytonas. It is one of the chronographs with the most readable and clean dials available out there, and it has been for years. The only thing about this watch that changed recently, is the diameter of the watch case and the color of the small seconds hand, it turned red. The diameter was 39mm and has grown to 42mm, a bit more into the here and now of watches.IWC Flieger Chrono ref. 3717-01Over the last few months, I had the opportunity to try and wear an IWC Flieger Chronograph (or Pilot Chronograph as you wish) that has been treated with the ever [...]

Yesterday, Ive received a number of pictures from people working on a new project, IWC Pilot DLC watches. They customized the IWC Pilot Mark XVI ref.3235 and Pilot Chronograph ref.3717 and give it a slide bit of blue by adding a blue NATO strap and a blue second hand. I personally think they did a nice job on these pilots watches and it is refreshing to see some non-Rolex customizations for a change.As you can see, these IWC Pilot watches are now even more stealth looking as they were before. The technical specifications remain the same as that of their original brothers of course (click here), except for the DLC cases and NATO straps. The small blue hand gimmick is a very nice feature imho. [...]

Watch designer Genta designed a number of watches that turned into icons. Best example is the first stainless steel luxury watch he designed in 1972, the Royal Oak for Audemars Piguet. Later on, he repeated this with his Nautilus for Patek Philippe and the Ingenieur for IWC. All these watches are being referred to as Jumbo, as they were considered to be HUGE then. Today, we seem to be laughing at 39/40mm diameter watches. One of the readers of Fratellowatches, Martijn, has two of Gentas cult watches and sent me some photographs.The IWC Ingenieur SL1832 Jumbo is part of Martijns collection of IWC watches. Recently, he added a white dial Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo that has been produced a [...]

Ive been a fan (and wearer) of Santoni shoes for quite a long time and I was thrilled to see IWC introducing a new Portofino watch with a Santoni strap. Last week, the Ace Dik boutique in Amsterdam turned into an IWC and Santoni shop for two whole days. Host of the evening, Alon Ben-Joseph and his colleagues, provided a great platform for admirers of Italian and Swiss craftsmanship. Two people from Santoni were present as well, to answer questions about their products and to demonstrate how their shoes are being made, colored and polished.Visitors of the boutique were able to try on all IWC watches and to see the new Santoni straps (and shoes) for themselves. The 45mm Portofino Hand Wound E [...]

Already mentioned a few posts earlier (about the SIHH), the IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Eight Days timepiece with hand made Santoni strap is something to look forward too. Although I am a bit skeptic about the quality / durability of their in-house movements, IWC knows how to design a watch. It seems that almost every model in their catalog is very likable, also by non-watch aficionados. Now, if they can crank up the quality of the caliber 50000 movements a bit (Ive seen too much? 7 days power reserve models with troubles in the last few years), I might be interested in getting one myself as well at some point.The IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Eight Days is surely a timepiece that I would like to tr [...]

With the F1 of Spa-Francorchamps coming up this weekend we look back at our trip there some weeks ago. We joined IWC and AMG for the 24hrs of Spa and had the opportunity to wear an IWC Big Pilots Watch. Having that watch on the wrist for a few days, I got quite used to it despite the fact that I feel that 40mm is the perfect size for a watch. That being said, lets have a look at the IWC Big Pilots Watch IW501001 and if I would buy one.IWC Big Pilots Watch First ImpressionsMy initial thought when opening the box was that its clearly called Big Pilots for a reason. With a stainless steel case that measures 46.2 mm its one of the biggest watches I have ever worn. With a thickness of 15.6 mm its [...]

Sometimes, you need to pave the way for something new. Therefore, my IWC Ingenieur 3227 01 is for sale. I have written several times about this watch (here and here for example), but there comes a time of letting go some of your collection pieces to get something else.This type of Ingenieur isnt in production anymore and is therefore probably the shortest in production-Ingenieur model, from 2005-2009. List price was 5.900,= Euro which was a bit steep, I am asking 4.100,= Euro. Offers are welcome though, but if it doesnt fetch enough, it will remain to be in my collection of course.The watch comes complete with box, papers, booklets, IWC soft strap etcetera. As complete as it left authorized [...]

About two weeks ago, I spoke to Dimer (friend of the show and eCommerce Manager at AceJewelers) and he showed me his recently acquired IWC Ingenieur from their Vintage collection (as shown below). Since I have a weak spot for the Ingenieur series, I tried this Vintage Collection Ingenieur a couple of times already and am very enthusiastic about it. So it is bound to happen that there will be one in my collection at some point.Anyhows, Dimer told me that he did some research on the web about the true source of inspiration for this Vintage Collection Ingenieur. It seems like IWC is directing us towards the wrong watch in their media campaign. In their media campaign, IWC refers to their first [...]

If I didnt already have one, I would seriously consider this IWC Ingenieur 3227-01 that is for sale over at Horloge Platform Nederland. This discontinued model was only in production for a short time, 2005 2008. IWC introduced this new Ingenieur model in 2005, to be a worthy successor of the original IWC Ingenieur SL model as designed by Gerald Genta in 1976/1977. Last year, I wrote an article on Gentas classics and their current versions here on Fratellowatches (click here to read the article) and although I concluded that this revised Ingenieur is only influenced by its original design (unlike the almost unchanged Patek Philippe Nautilus or Audemars Piguet Royal Oak), it is still an impre [...]

For IWC, 2009 is the year of the Aquatimer relaunch. IWCs first Aquatimer saw daylight in 1967 and I doubt that one of these first models ever saw some water, because they didnt look very water resistant. However, looks might be deceiving because IWC claimed it to be water resistant to 200 meters. Anyway, between 1967 and now, IWC has had several sports watches (GST, Ocean, Aquatimer) suitable for use below the surface.The new line of Aquatimers have been presented at SIHH 2009 and a number of jewelers organized introduction events for their customers (click here for the Ace Jewelers presentation earlier this year). One of my personal favorites this year, is the IWC Aquatimer Chronograph Edi [...]

When you own a Panerai, it is a simple job to get a decent custom made strap for it. When you own an IWC Ingenieur (ref.3227), it is a bit harderthe IWC soft strap of the AMG version will fit perfectly, but IWC doesnt make a leather strap for this model.Jacob from Spain creates leather straps for all types and makes of watches. Including a strap for the IWC Ingenieur. I heard about it via e-mail, when a reader of this blog noticed that Jacob was making these straps and did know that I own a 3227 as well ?? The writer of the mail also sent me a link to a short review of the Jacob strap for the IWC Ingenieur on Watch Talk Forums (click here).Before I clicked, I wondered if Jacob had made a sol [...]

The green production process of the watch manufacturer in Schaffhausen, is something to be proud of. Not only IWC, but a lot of other companies seem to embrace durable entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility. One of IWCs projects is to support projects like David de Rothshilds Plastiki Expedition. David de Rothschild and his Adventure Ecology organization built a 60 foot catamaran made entirely of plastic bottles, PET plastic and recycled waste products. With this ship, named the Plastiki, David and his carefully picked crew members will sail approx. 10,000 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco to Sydney.The name of this boat, Plastiki, was inspired by the f [...]

Yesterday, I had a phone call with a watch dealer that I know for quite some time. It was quite a while since our last conversation, so we had a lot to talk about. He told me that he bought this IWC Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar, in stainless steel. I didnt know about this version, only about the platinum version (click here to read about the platinum version).It seems that IWC made them as a Bucherer special edition. Bucherer was founded in 1888 by Carl-Friedrich Bucherer, who opened his first watch and jewelry store in Lucerne, Switzerland. Nowadays, there are 18 shops in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. I was in their store in Lucerne a few years back, they have a pretty impressive collec [...]