To be honest, the significant amount of criticism and negative feedback about the watch due to its price and lower-tier movement has made it particularly appealing to dedicated fans of the Ingenieur who are willing to pay the retail price despite these factors. Nonetheless, purchasing the watch was a fantastic experience for me-I received a cap, polo shirt, chocolates, and a keychain, and I was even invited to an IWC event, something I never experienced with Rolex, Omega, or Grand Seiko. Regardless of the critiques, I truly love the watch; its fit and finish are exceptional, and its accuracy is +1 per day, which makes me very happy.
Thank you for the review! On the price note I think that some people do reviews without ever seeing or touching the watch just to produce video as soon as possible for the views - I've seen those first reviews and I believed them - decided that this it's overpriced and never gave it a second thought. Fast forward to couple weeks ago when I visited my AD to look at New Speedmaster FOIS and they had Aqua Ingenieur on display, I've seen it and asked to see it since I've never had a chance before. I'm glad I did... I'm not sure what is it about this watch, but I feel in love. Amazing on the wrist and it just spoke to me... It's my next purchase.
Happy you like the review and yes, I fully agree. Most reviews (but not all) are not „real“ reviews. Its as you say just to post and get views. I post to really share honest opinions and experiences with my watches. Its a fantastic watch and really doesn’t deserve the „hate“
Thanks for your story and video. I just bought silver dial ingenieur for my christmas present, inspite of its over-priced aspect. When I tried it on my wrist at the first time in boutique, i decided to get it in my collections, because my hear-beating was getting faster 😅 and I knew it was great time piece not only for their history but also beautiful finising, proposition, and practical genta sport watch for me. Fortunately, retail price of ingenieur in Korea is around 10k, so I could get it happily compared to your experience (but I heard lWC korea brach will consider price adjustment in next month, that was the one reason I decided to buy it in a few days). Anyway, it fits well, looks great, and Im happy to be with this unique time piece. Thank you again
Great review and I agree that too much of the pricing hysteria is about the movement. The watch design, dial and finish is spectacular and worth the money.
love the video and love the watch. Good to think the customer has the power back when it comes to purchasing. Perhaps a few more deals will be available in the future.
When this watch just came out, I remember the IWC boutique SA in Singapore were pretty arrogant about it. Saying how it was only for 'VIP' people with a large purchase history. Then a year later.. you can literally buy it online.. with the black dial version being 4-5k SGD lower than retail on the grey market. Beautiful to see. A lesson to IWC that they are not at the level they think they are. Gorgeous watch with superb finishing as expected for that exorbitant price. A watch that I would love to add to my collection but the initial 'experience' at the boutique really put me off.
I do love this watch and am planning to get one, but I am definitely going to be pushing the boutique for a deal on this one. If they do not play ball I can get another Grande Seiko. I enjoyed your in depth analysis and story behind getting the watch.
Thanks for your feedback. Hope you get a good deal. You probably have better chances of a deal at a local authorized dealer. Boutiques have become 0% flexible in my experience in regards to pricing.
@@uhrenglueck2587 I bought today, and they were happy to give a discount. They are a dealer not a boutique, and I was happy to buy at a price a lot closer to what I think it should be. I picked up the Aqua.
Feel IWC missed on two points here. 1) The finishing on the bracelet, case, and the dial is indeed a level above Mark 20 that is priced around $6.2k on bracelet. However, the Ingenieur should have been priced between $8k-$9k, a few $k premium over Mark 20, not almost double the price. That put a lot of people off. The ADs in US are already offering $10k price after discount. I think discount will increase as time passes and I see these sitting close of $8k-$9k preowned, the price range I feel was right to begin with. 2) IWC should have keep special colors like Aqua and grey Titanium boutique only and limited production. White and Black should have been available with ADs to start with. Now except the titanium, I see every other color available with ADs sitting in the shelf. Shows both IWC and Ingenieur in a bid light. Personally, I love the watch and will pick either the white or Aqua (or both 😅) at some point in future. The Ingenieur and the Alpine Eagle are my two favorite steel sports watches below $15k that are not Rolex. Congratulations again and enjoy.
Thanks for watching and the detailed response. I mostly agree with all you said. If you say both, you mean you’ll wait till they fall on the preowned market for around the 8-9k?
When i saw the ingenier in person i was blown away, fantastic watch. Out of all the dial colours the white is my favourite. Videos and pictures dont do it justice. I own a mark 18 and would like to add another iwc. It is an expensive brand, feel like its more expensive than both omega and rolex.
Great video and commentary. I ended up going for the Titanium version which has another layer of "Boutique games" going for it due to lower availability. So funny that the aqua dial was all the rage when the steel pieces were released and now all the steel pieces seem to be available in stock at almost every IWC AD/Boutique I go into. Also, agree that the watch has way more details when you handle it in person. The polished vs brushed (or in the case of the Ti22 model, the micro-blasting vs brushed vs polished) are hard to capture on pictures or even video. Finally, I thought it was a weird fluke, but the amount of bracelet links supplied is truly strange. I don't have a huge wrist and it worked out for me as well, but I've never had another factory bracelet watch have as little links as the 40mm Ingenieur. The 41mm IWC Pilot I have on the bracelet comes with at least 4 more links standard....Its like they are trying to make even more money by skimping on supplied standard links.....
Thanks for sharing and watching. Often non Rolex videos don’t ger a lot of traffic so im glad there is an audience for the IWC Ingenieur. Interesting that you had similar experiences with the Boutique. And yes, it’s really weird that they provide so little links for such an expensive watch. I mean every Rolex I have bought I had to remove 3-4 links, so it’s not common to do such a thing. But there are similar brands, especially from the Richemont group, who do strange things too. Panerai is selling clearly non in-house movements (with the Chronos) as in-house movements and also has reduced the WR on many watches from 300 to 100 but increased prices. At least when Rolex increases prices they don’t reduce the quality but keep it or make something better.
Thanks man, great video, love this watch, and its all about the finish, maybe a tad high on the price tag, but, you know, priced well in comparsion to AP or Patek, and Inlike the looks of this more, its a very clean and classic look. It might just be my next watch.
Interesting video! I agree with your points regarding the design and finishing of the ingenieur - it is gorgeous. I myself have 18 cm wrists and struggled to get a good fit in store with all links included when I tried it. Taking of one link out would likely make it too tight though. I hope the adjustable clasp becomes an option without having to pay extra. The bracelet feels exceptionally well made - apart from the clasp. That part felt like third party / off-the shelf component tacked on in the last minute. The mark series does actually have a somewhat decent historical significance. The mark XI / 11 was first introduced in 1948 and supplied to the British Military during WW2. The ingenieur was first launched in 1955, and then eventually completely redesigned by Genta in 1976 as an attempt to revitalize the series.
Love the watch in aqua color; saw it in real life and had it on my wrist...and was amazed! But; I can not justify to pay more then 10.000euro for this watch. I have trouble paying for something that I think is overpriced in the market. Then there is also the issue of the bracelet. The silver and black models have a nice brushed bracelet, but only the aqua has some polished parts on this bracelet which I don't like. So I will need to buy an extra full brushed bracelet and if I want an adjustable clasp I will probably have to buy this also separate :(
It's a great watch but I agree that IWC made some mistakes with this release. I have the aqua and the engineering on this watch is top notch. They really focused on the little details. I have a small 6.5 inch wrist and normally a 40mm integrated sports watch would be unwearable for me but they made this watch fit great.
I can get one at my local IWC boutique as a walk in any day of the week, I have been offered it 3-4 times this year, they tried to pull a Rolex but they are not in the same position.
I think so too. Sorry, but some things need to stay private. If you have a good relationship with your AD simply ask what is possible and open the discussion
Good story, i can relate with your thought process. Since when this was launched, I was happy for the revival of the Ingenieur. However the pricing was a huge let down. Too close to a Laureato (GP is entry into haute horology) and too close to an Octo Finissimo. You have mentioned in the video you would not pay full retail, but did not mention which discount you got or what you were expecting. Usually, from my AD, i get from 15% to 25% on IWC, Omega, Bulgari, however it would still not be enough to get to a fair price for this Ingenieur. I would certainly not pay the price of a Rolex GMT for this IWC after discount. This should not be more than 8000CHF ~ 9200USD new.
Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts. I didn’t mention the discount because I don’t make that personal stuff public and also don’t want to „hurt“ that AD relationship in case someone knows who it is. I enjoy sharing my watch collecting stories but some things still stay private 😉. Hope you can understand.
@@uhrenglueck2587 That is the right call. Mentioning discount is enough, your relationship with your AD is more important than us random internet people.
To be honest, the significant amount of criticism and negative feedback about the watch due to its price and lower-tier movement has made it particularly appealing to dedicated fans of the Ingenieur who are willing to pay the retail price despite these factors. Nonetheless, purchasing the watch was a fantastic experience for me-I received a cap, polo shirt, chocolates, and a keychain, and I was even invited to an IWC event, something I never experienced with Rolex, Omega, or Grand Seiko. Regardless of the critiques, I truly love the watch; its fit and finish are exceptional, and its accuracy is +1 per day, which makes me very happy.
Congratulations on the great watch and positive vibes you got in the boutique
Thank you for the review! On the price note I think that some people do reviews without ever seeing or touching the watch just to produce video as soon as possible for the views - I've seen those first reviews and I believed them - decided that this it's overpriced and never gave it a second thought. Fast forward to couple weeks ago when I visited my AD to look at New Speedmaster FOIS and they had Aqua Ingenieur on display, I've seen it and asked to see it since I've never had a chance before. I'm glad I did... I'm not sure what is it about this watch, but I feel in love. Amazing on the wrist and it just spoke to me... It's my next purchase.
Happy you like the review and yes, I fully agree. Most reviews (but not all) are not „real“ reviews. Its as you say just to post and get views. I post to really share honest opinions and experiences with my watches. Its a fantastic watch and really doesn’t deserve the „hate“
Thanks for your story and video. I just bought silver dial ingenieur for my christmas present, inspite of its over-priced aspect. When I tried it on my wrist at the first time in boutique, i decided to get it in my collections, because my hear-beating was getting faster 😅 and I knew it was great time piece not only for their history but also beautiful finising, proposition, and practical genta sport watch for me. Fortunately, retail price of ingenieur in Korea is around 10k, so I could get it happily compared to your experience (but I heard lWC korea brach will consider price adjustment in next month, that was the one reason I decided to buy it in a few days). Anyway, it fits well, looks great, and Im happy to be with this unique time piece. Thank you again
Great review and I agree that too much of the pricing hysteria is about the movement. The watch design, dial and finish is spectacular and worth the money.
Well said! Finally some feedback I fully agree with 😄👍
love the video and love the watch. Good to think the customer has the power back when it comes to purchasing. Perhaps a few more deals will be available in the future.
Thanks for watching 👍
When this watch just came out, I remember the IWC boutique SA in Singapore were pretty arrogant about it. Saying how it was only for 'VIP' people with a large purchase history. Then a year later.. you can literally buy it online.. with the black dial version being 4-5k SGD lower than retail on the grey market. Beautiful to see. A lesson to IWC that they are not at the level they think they are. Gorgeous watch with superb finishing as expected for that exorbitant price. A watch that I would love to add to my collection but the initial 'experience' at the boutique really put me off.
I can relate with you. But try another experience at an AD. There you get a new chance and a better price 😉👍
I had to get the adjustable clasp. Improved the wear experience so much. Love the watch, agree the movement is awesome.
Cool. How did you get the adjustable clasp? Doesn’t it feel like it’s not made for the watch?
I do love this watch and am planning to get one, but I am definitely going to be pushing the boutique for a deal on this one. If they do not play ball I can get another Grande Seiko. I enjoyed your in depth analysis and story behind getting the watch.
Thanks for your feedback. Hope you get a good deal. You probably have better chances of a deal at a local authorized dealer. Boutiques have become 0% flexible in my experience in regards to pricing.
@@uhrenglueck2587 I bought today, and they were happy to give a discount. They are a dealer not a boutique, and I was happy to buy at a price a lot closer to what I think it should be. I picked up the Aqua.
Feel IWC missed on two points here.
1) The finishing on the bracelet, case, and the dial is indeed a level above Mark 20 that is priced around $6.2k on bracelet. However, the Ingenieur should have been priced between $8k-$9k, a few $k premium over Mark 20, not almost double the price. That put a lot of people off.
The ADs in US are already offering $10k price after discount. I think discount will increase as time passes and I see these sitting close of $8k-$9k preowned, the price range I feel was right to begin with.
2) IWC should have keep special colors like Aqua and grey Titanium boutique only and limited production. White and Black should have been available with ADs to start with. Now except the titanium, I see every other color available with ADs sitting in the shelf. Shows both IWC and Ingenieur in a bid light.
Personally, I love the watch and will pick either the white or Aqua (or both 😅) at some point in future. The Ingenieur and the Alpine Eagle are my two favorite steel sports watches below $15k that are not Rolex.
Congratulations again and enjoy.
Thanks for watching and the detailed response. I mostly agree with all you said. If you say both, you mean you’ll wait till they fall on the preowned market for around the 8-9k?
When i saw the ingenier in person i was blown away, fantastic watch. Out of all the dial colours the white is my favourite. Videos and pictures dont do it justice. I own a mark 18 and would like to add another iwc. It is an expensive brand, feel like its more expensive than both omega and rolex.
Couldn't agree more!
Great video and commentary. I ended up going for the Titanium version which has another layer of "Boutique games" going for it due to lower availability. So funny that the aqua dial was all the rage when the steel pieces were released and now all the steel pieces seem to be available in stock at almost every IWC AD/Boutique I go into.
Also, agree that the watch has way more details when you handle it in person. The polished vs brushed (or in the case of the Ti22 model, the micro-blasting vs brushed vs polished) are hard to capture on pictures or even video.
Finally, I thought it was a weird fluke, but the amount of bracelet links supplied is truly strange. I don't have a huge wrist and it worked out for me as well, but I've never had another factory bracelet watch have as little links as the 40mm Ingenieur. The 41mm IWC Pilot I have on the bracelet comes with at least 4 more links standard....Its like they are trying to make even more money by skimping on supplied standard links.....
Thanks for sharing and watching. Often non Rolex videos don’t ger a lot of traffic so im glad there is an audience for the IWC Ingenieur. Interesting that you had similar experiences with the Boutique. And yes, it’s really weird that they provide so little links for such an expensive watch. I mean every Rolex I have bought I had to remove 3-4 links, so it’s not common to do such a thing. But there are similar brands, especially from the Richemont group, who do strange things too. Panerai is selling clearly non in-house movements (with the Chronos) as in-house movements and also has reduced the WR on many watches from 300 to 100 but increased prices. At least when Rolex increases prices they don’t reduce the quality but keep it or make something better.
Thanks man, great video, love this watch, and its all about the finish, maybe a tad high on the price tag, but, you know, priced well in comparsion to AP or Patek, and Inlike the looks of this more, its a very clean and classic look. It might just be my next watch.
Thanks for watching!
Interesting video! I agree with your points regarding the design and finishing of the ingenieur - it is gorgeous. I myself have 18 cm wrists and struggled to get a good fit in store with all links included when I tried it. Taking of one link out would likely make it too tight though. I hope the adjustable clasp becomes an option without having to pay extra. The bracelet feels exceptionally well made - apart from the clasp. That part felt like third party / off-the shelf component tacked on in the last minute.
The mark series does actually have a somewhat decent historical significance. The mark XI / 11 was first introduced in 1948 and supplied to the British Military during WW2. The ingenieur was first launched in 1955, and then eventually completely redesigned by Genta in 1976 as an attempt to revitalize the series.
Thanks. I didn’t know that about the Mark 🤦♂️. Sorry to hear you didn’t get a good fit. A pitty but its important that it feels good on the wrist
Love the watch in aqua color; saw it in real life and had it on my wrist...and was amazed! But; I can not justify to pay more then 10.000euro for this watch. I have trouble paying for something that I think is overpriced in the market. Then there is also the issue of the bracelet. The silver and black models have a nice brushed bracelet, but only the aqua has some polished parts on this bracelet which I don't like. So I will need to buy an extra full brushed bracelet and if I want an adjustable clasp I will probably have to buy this also separate :(
It's a great watch but I agree that IWC made some mistakes with this release. I have the aqua and the engineering on this watch is top notch. They really focused on the little details. I have a small 6.5 inch wrist and normally a 40mm integrated sports watch would be unwearable for me but they made this watch fit great.
Thanks for watching and congratulations on the great watch 😄👍
I can get one at my local IWC boutique as a walk in any day of the week, I have been offered it 3-4 times this year, they tried to pull a Rolex but they are not in the same position.
I know. That’s exactly what I’m saying… Didn’t you hear the story? 😄
Beautiful piece! Great that you waited for your own terms and timing. May I ask the discount your AD offered (xx % off)?
I think so too. Sorry, but some things need to stay private. If you have a good relationship with your AD simply ask what is possible and open the discussion
Good story, i can relate with your thought process. Since when this was launched, I was happy for the revival of the Ingenieur. However the pricing was a huge let down. Too close to a Laureato (GP is entry into haute horology) and too close to an Octo Finissimo. You have mentioned in the video you would not pay full retail, but did not mention which discount you got or what you were expecting. Usually, from my AD, i get from 15% to 25% on IWC, Omega, Bulgari, however it would still not be enough to get to a fair price for this Ingenieur. I would certainly not pay the price of a Rolex GMT for this IWC after discount. This should not be more than 8000CHF ~ 9200USD new.
Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts. I didn’t mention the discount because I don’t make that personal stuff public and also don’t want to „hurt“ that AD relationship in case someone knows who it is. I enjoy sharing my watch collecting stories but some things still stay private 😉. Hope you can understand.
@@uhrenglueck2587 That is the right call. Mentioning discount is enough, your relationship with your AD is more important than us random internet people.
May I ask did you pay below retail?
Yes. As mentioned in the video I wouldn’t have bought it at full retail. Still was expensive but was justifiable for me 😄👍