Something Wicked This Way Comes: The IWC Ingenieur Double Chronograph Titanium

July 21, 2011

Were big fans of the IWC Ingenieur. Its always had all the elements of a great timepiece: a long history as a tool watch extraordinaire, great Gerald Genta design DNA and a bombproof in-house movement. The Inge chronographs havent garnered nearly as much attention as their time-only brethren but we think thats about to change. A new Inge chrono was spotted on the wrist of IWCs CEO, Georges Kern, at SIHH earlier this year and since then, theres been much speculation about it. A prototype? Nope. Its the new Ingenieur Double Chronograph Titanium. Officially announced last month in IWCs enthusiast magazine, Watch International, the Inge Doppelchrono is a tour de force of the companys most famous elements. The caliber 79230 is a modified Valjoux motor fitted with a split-second hand and extra pusher, the same setup as in IWCs Top Gun Double Chrono. Its great to see IWC using titanium again, a material the company used to great effect in the 1980s and 90s. Its use is bound to render this 45x16mm giant more wearable, particularly on the rubber strap. Design is modern and edgy but remains distinctly an Ingenieur, with the integrated strap, angular shape and exposed screws on the bezel. The blue accents on the dial and chrono hand are subtle but keep the piece from being too austere.The new Ingenieur Double Chronograph Titanium hasnt even shown up on IWCs Website yet but you can read the full scoop on it in the iPad edition of Watch International.