Of course, the black dialed version ain’t bad either, but we simply feel more drawn to the “silver-plated” dial version of this watch. Inside the watch IWC uses their Calibre 79420 automatic movement. This isn’t an in-house made movement, but is rather a base Swiss ETA Valjoux 7750 that has been modified by IWC to include the split second chronograph complication. The pusher for the split second chronograph is located at 10 o’clock. We also like the use of black colored date and day of the week discs in tandem with these dial colors.
Legibility on the dial is great, and we appreciate the three-dimensional levels. More and more we come not only to appreciate, but expect vivid dials with more than one level. Flat dials simply don’t really cut it for us anymore most of the time. IWC uses a fair amount of lume on the dial, which is also applied on the chronograph sub dial hands, but unfortunately not for the chronograph seconds hand.
We’ve always found IWC Ingenieur models to be intriguing as well as comfortable. For about a decade we felt like they were one of IWC’s best kept secrets which seemed to not get the attention they deserved next to the more popular Big Pilot and Aquatimer collections. As you may have known, IWC re-branded the Ingenieur in 2013 to being their auto sports race watch collection. This move will likely draw more people to the collection and help invigorate it by giving the product development team at IWC a clear way of how to evolve the product. The Ingeneiur case further continues to age gracefully, offering a classically restrained look that nevertheless feels both sporty and modern. In titanium it works all the better.
Attached to the Ingenieur Double Chronograph Titanium is a custom high-grade rubber strap which nicely tapers a bit from where it connects to the case. If you’ve never put one of these on your wrist, it is worth a shot as it can be difficult to imagine how it looks and feels without an actual experience. The IWC Ingenieur Double Chronograph Titanium watches are the ref. IW386501 with the silvery dial and the ref. IW386503 with the black dial. Price is $12,700. iwc.com
