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A visit to the IWC Boutique in Florence
My last watch-related visit in Florence was to the IWC Boutique.
I first tried on the titanium Ingenieur Automatic 40 (ref. IW328904) and was disappointed: I didn't respond to the look of the metal nor to the blackened hands and indexes.
And the fit on the wrist was ok, but not great because the case is very flat and leaves a little gap at the point where the bracelet wraps the wrist.
I preferred the stainless steel Aqua dial variant (ref. IW328903): the color really deserves to be seen in real life (much better than on photos) and the whole piece felt much more pleasing to my eyes, even if the fit is, of course, identical.
Then, I tried on the rose gold/black dial Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 (ref. IW503702). This timepiece is so large and thick (44.4 x 15 mm with a lug width of 22 mm) that it is clearly not for my type of wrist.
And, even if the dial looks quite nice, especially in this black variant, I find the automatic calibre 52616 aesthetically unimpressive and the single fold clasp not very attractive.
Then, I asked to see a manual-winding model and I was shown the stainless steel Portofino Hand-Wound Moon Phase (ref. IW516401).
Again, the large dimensions (45 x 13.1 mm) were just not for me and I find it hard to understand why such dimensions were chosen for this kind of dress watch.
I forgot to take a photo of the calibre 59800, simply because I didn't respond to its aesthetic, but here's one by Horobox:
credit: Horobox
Finally, I tried on the rose gold Portugieser Hand-Wound Tourbillon Day & Night (ref. IW545901).
As it is a little more reasonably sized (42.4 x 10.8 mm), I liked it a little better.
But I have mixed feelings about the 3D day & night indicator (do I really like this "antidopean display", as they call it ?) and I don't find the cage of the flying tourbillon very appealing.
As for the aesthetic of the manual-winding calibre 81925, with circular stripes, I personally don't respond to it.
In conclusion, I left the boutique with the very clear feeling that these modern IWC watches, however beautiful and appealing they may be to others, are simply not for me.
Thanks for me.
Best, Emmanuel
A visit to the IWC Boutique in Florence
My last watch-related visit in Florence was to the IWC Boutique. I first tried on the titanium Ingenieur Automatic 40 (ref. IW328904) and was disappointed : I didn't respond to the look of the metal nor to the blackened hands and indexes. And the fit on t...
Such beautiful pieces, and have to admit the titanium Ingenieur remains my personal favourite.
Thank you for these gorgeous shots, and your first impressions of them in the flesh!
Glad you do.
But of course I keep in mind that some among us might feel differently and very legitimately so! Best, Emmanuel
Thanks for the pictures and impressions, Emmanuel.
For what it’s worth, I think the titanium Ingeniuer looks great on you. I like the contrast of the blackened hands and indices. If they were grey or silver it would be a bland looking watch. The single fold deployant on the perpetual calendar at least has...
Thank you, Jon!
I agree with you on both of your points. The titanium Ingénieur wouldn’t look nice with silver hands and indexes. But I preferred the steel/aqua variant nonetheless. The folding clasp is indeed a good counterweight to the case. As for the readability, it ...
I'm glad we share the seem feeling,
even if I keep in mind that other collectors might feel differently of course. Which one do you call teal: aqua or green/F1 ? Best, Emmanuel
The same Ingenieur that you showed and like with the blue-green dial (IW328903). I've had two Big Pilots that were TOO big pilots and a 7 day Portuguese that also wore too
big. Not a big fan of the looks of their perpetuals (much prefer my UN Marine perpetual with windows rather than dials). Just down to one now, the original Cousteau 1000m diver. Big but too cool to let go of. ...
You can't cherry pick one model...
...but I counter with Portugieser Perpetual Calendar: 44.2mm x 14.9mm. That is a hokey puck. They don't even show a side view photo like they do for some of the other references...even they know it's too thick : )
No, but I was pointing out the thickness of the IWC PC, which is thicker than a 300m dive watch...
...if you notice, I also included a photo of a Patek 3940 Perpetual Moon-phase that is 8.8mm thin and debuted in 1985...
I wouldn’t say that it’s too thick,
but I would say that it could be thinner: my Alpine Eagle is below 10 mm (9,6 mm I think) and this relative thinness is really enjoyable on the wrist. That said, the proportions of the Ingenieur are ok. The other models, on the other hand, are really too ...
You bring out an interesting point 😁
One of the old chauvinist ads claimed that men only clean windows sized up to 40mm - so seemingly none of the current collection apply 😂 I have to say I am likewise not a fan of the size and even though I like the classical Portugieser look (and absolutel...
I didn't know this ad and it's quite ironical indeed that all their watches are now over 40 mm ! 😁
The IWC models which speak to me are those below, and I unfortunately don't find such proportions and such a wonderful vibe in the modern catalogue. credit: @andri.watch & @ericwind ...
Great write up!
While I agree with most of you say about the Ingenieur, especially the flatness and the gap, the titanium metal seems to have this speckled effect to my annoyance. Beyond that, I feel the Ingenieur should have come out with more exciting metals and combin...
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the Ingenieur!
Like you, I dislike the speckled effect of the titanium. And I agree that IWC could have done several things differently and, oftentimes, better. But I'm not surprised that you enjoy your Aqua: this dial color is really very nice and it's a watch very eas...