New El Ingenieur!

[FasTTaP]

Would you guys recommend this watch for a (very) small wrist ?

[warbody]

Looking careful in sql_pl picture ... THAT GUY DRIVE A Audi RS4 I guess is the last version.... OMG he's a millionare ! :bump:

[Watchmeister]

I thought everyone (except for me of course) was.

[Finepics]

Funny... A year ago, I did not care at all about IWC-watches.. They looked plain and boring to me. Too much of a "narrow brand", not well known as Breitling, Tag Heuer and Omega..

But lately, with the release of the excellent replicas I start to see the beauty of this brand.. The Ingeniur is a simple, stylish watch... Maybe that will be my first IWC..

I think you'll find that IWC is a major step up above Omega,TAG and Breitling. IWC are a full Manufacture and have been around longer than TAG which is really just a marketing brand name (Techniques D'Avant Garde - actually owned by an Arab entrepeneur). Heuer is the old Swiss company but long since gone apart fron the name.

[RageRover]

I think you'll find that IWC is a major step up above Omega,TAG and Breitling. IWC are a full Manufacture and have been around longer than TAG which is really just a marketing brand name (Techniques D'Avant Garde - actually owned by an Arab entrepeneur). Heuer is the old Swiss company but long since gone apart fron the name.

YES! IWC is a major step up from MOST watchmakers. IWCs designs have always been somewhat understaded. IWC has an amzing history. Sure, everyone and their grandmother has heard of Rolex...which is one reason I dont own one, nor do I sort of want to. Although I do admire the history of Rolex, and that does attract me to 2 models (i.e. Comex SD & the Tudor Submariner MN issue),

The Ingenieur is an amzing watch. I dont own a repro yet, but I think this is going to be my first purchase (although I have been dying for the Panerai 1950).

i should keep my mouth shut here...but do u want an amazing, understanded watch, from a company that has an amazing history, yet its a watch that you can probably walk around with day after day and never see anyone wearing it? Then get an Ingenieur. If you want a watch to impress other people or to be like everyother plebian, get a Rolex sub.

I sort of feel bad buying a repro of this watch, but it looks so amazing! And Im such an UWC fan.

Im sorry, but Omega, Breitling and TAG are junk. Yes, they make some nice looking watches. But the watches they make are really no better than any of the repros you can buy...they use the same ETA movements, just slightly better finishing. The only Omega ever worth buying is the original Speedmaster (with a handwound Lemania). I guess their $100,000 limited production central tourbillon is also ok.

Heuer (along with Breitling and Omega) used to produce their own movements and were great companies, but not since the late 1970's IMHO. Once TAG merged with Heuer in the '80s it was all down hill. Although I am ashamed to admitt I own 2 gen Tag-Heuers (I havent worn them in years).

I have no problem buying a repro Panerai as paying $6000 for an ETA 6497/8 is just crazy. I guess the same goes for the Omega Seamaster 300 & Railmaster.

For a good link on Ingenieur history check out: http://www.frizzellweb.com/larry/ingenieur/

and just a bit of history, this new Ingenieur is a re-do of the "big Ingenieur" first introduced in the 1970s. If it looks similar to the AP Royal Oak, its because Gerald Genta designed both. Im not sure...but I do believe the IWC was designed first.

I think the rolex came out first, but like the Milgauss, the Ingenieur (which means Engineer in German I believe, as IWC is made in the German speaking area of Switzerland) was designed to operate in areas of high magnetism

[chrgod]

Nice post, RageRover!

[bkdc]

I'd buy it if the datefont got fixed.

[Marv1n]

Im sorry, but Omega, Breitling and TAG are junk. Yes, they make some nice looking watches. But the watches they make are really no better than any of the repros you can buy...they use the same ETA movements, just slightly better finishing. The only Omega ever worth buying is the original Speedmaster (with a handwound Lemania). I guess their $100,000 limited production central tourbillon is also ok.

Heuer (along with Breitling and Omega) used to produce their own movements and were great companies, but not since the late 1970's IMHO. Once TAG merged with Heuer in the '80s it was all down hill. Although I am ashamed to admitt I own 2 gen Tag-Heuers (I havent worn them in years).

Breitling stopped making in-house movements in the early 1950s. Since then, it has used movements from a number of manufacturers such as Venus, Lemania, ETA, Valjoux and Piguet. Kelek (which is owned by Breitling) develops modules for the base movements, some of which are exclusive to Breitling. Kelek does a ton of finishing as well.

Heuer was founded in 1860 and has been a prty to some of the most revolutionary developments in watch manufacture spanning from their first patent for a chronograph in 1882, to their development of very high precision quartz timers in in 1970s. As is the standard in the modern day, TAG (part of LVMH (Louis Vuitton–Moët Hennessy)) outsources and also does modifications to standard ETA movements for inclusion in their watches.

Omega was founded on the principle of outsourcing (etablisage) in 1848 by Louis Brandt. In 1880 they set up a proper "manufacture" to fabricate the entire timepiece. It is true that many Omega calibers begin with a base ebauche brought in, but you'd be shocked how many high end manufacturers start with an external base ebauche and modify it, calling the end result their own caliber. IWC is included in this group - they are rebranding modified ETA movements and placing IWC caliber names on them.

The Valjoux 7760 (same as the 7750 but in the handwound version) is the basis for the IWC Portugieser Chronograph movements. There is an IWC expert whose job it is to extract by hand all metal bearings from the supplied caliber and replace them with the more expensive jeweled bearings. This is an effort, which will ultimately significantly increase the longevity of the movement.

When buying a high end timepiece, you're buying much more than a movement. If you want to talk about in-house movements, the list of names that are pure 100 percent in-house is much, much shorter than you'd believe.

PS - what are your TAGs? I may make you an offer if you're game....

[RageRover]

When buying a high end timepiece, you're buying much more than a movement. If you want to talk about in-house movements, the list of names that are pure 100 percent in-house is much, much shorter than you'd believe.

PS - what are your TAGs? I may make you an offer if you're game....

No argument there! The only reason I said TAG/Heuer, Breitling and Omega is becasue those companies were brought up in the post before me. But for me, the movement is VERY important. Panerai has now begun to manufacture their own 8-day movement, but becasue many of their watches use a pretty much stock ETA/unitas or a valjoux (yes, nicely finished and with a custom bridge/top plate) i think the prices they command are crazy. To spend thousands on a watch that does not have an in-house or atleast heavily modified ETA is stupid. But thats my opinion.

Like I said earlier...imagine a Ferrari or Porsche with a Chevy V8 crate motor. Yes, they would go fast and probably work well. But they would be missing something (atleast for me). The engine is the soul. As is the movement in a watch.

Which is one reason I have A LOT of respect for Seiko. Not only does my $150 "Black Monster" use an in-house movement...the case, crystal ("Hardlex" Seiko's version of super-hard mineral glass...it hasn't scratched yet, and its been 3-4 years!) and even the screwsw are made by Seiko.

My Tag/Heuers; I own an F1. Atleast its called the F1 now. Its the one with the plastic turning bezel. It ws bought for me as gift shortly after I began scuba diving. It was bought around 1992. When I graduated highschool, in 1994, my parents bought me a Tag-Heuer "SEL" in 2 tone.

I dont think both watches are worth much, but they hold a lot of sentimental value. Eventhough I don't use them, I'm going to hold on to them.

[speedy1]

The only Omega ever worth buying is the original Speedmaster (with a handwound Lemania).

Which is why I purchased my 1966 105.012-66.

I agree whole heartedly with this statement EXCEPT that I think the used Omega Seamaster automatic is the best buy for the money out there.

This IWC looks to be one of the best reps ever offered from a quality standpoint.

This is the reason I am waiting for mine to get here. Then I can give a detailed look to it.

But after owning and modding some of the best reps out there AND owning more than a few gens I have some to the conclusion that 98% of the gens are not worth it as a watch purchase that you will make to wear.

This IWC inge looks like a great case and point. It is perhaps 90% there as far as quality. Yes, it MAY have a "cheap" movement in it but is a movement that if kept clean, will last just as long as the IWC movement. You can argue this point but ETA's have been proven to easily last 20 years with proper servicing. If you spend a bit of time and money to make sure the movement is serviced, all gaskets are up to speed, and most importantly (from a longevity standpoint) that the grooves that said gaskets fit into in order to seal the case are finished nice and smooth and straight. You will end up spending say at most $600 total worst case scenario and have a watch that looks and acts at minimum 97% like the original.

Yes it may have a date font issue but this isn’t glaringly obvious and more over don’t not make a damn bit of difference in the overall appearance ON THE WRIST (yes magnified eleventybillion time on your 24” computer monitor I am sure the date font looks obvious)

I for example, I would LOVE to buy a gen vintage 1680 or Tudor sub. But I would be AFRAID to wear it because of its value. The particular history of these watches is neat to read about but doesn’t captivate me. However, since I have been a space-nut since I was a kid the history of the 321.cal Speedmaster DOES interest me so I purchased a gen of THAT watch and had it restored.

With reps like this:

I get to wear the vintage Rollie products without spending a blasted fortune.

SO IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you buy a gen, you are most often buying the legacy and heritage behind that brand vs. buying the watch itself.

[Guest eddielee11]

sgl, pls email me .

your pm is not working

urgent.

[Nebakanezzar]

@ Sql,

Hey can you tell me what the lug width is? and what it tapers too?

thanx