NEW STANDARD
Watches & Wonders 2025 offered brands an opportunity to enhance their offerings with smaller-sized, yet incredibly-charming watches, as illustrated through these novel references.
At a time when seamlessness is the name of the game and barriers need to be broken down, watchmakers are taking on gender and style issues by rolling out more compact, more versatile pieces designed to delight all wrists. IWC clearly grasped the implications of these challenges and now showcases one of its signature models in a never-seen-before size. The Ingenieur, imagined by Gerald Genta back in the 70s and which went on to become an icon of chicness and sportiness, was revamped in 2023. This year, and as its name suggests, it’s back on the horological stage with an elegant 35 mm-diameter, 9.4 mm-slim case. An initial trio of the Ingenieur Automatic 35 now embellishes the collection.
Two boast a steel case combined with an integrated bracelet, with links fashioned in the same metal, attached by a butterfly clasp. Their grid-patterned dial is dressed in a silvered or black hue. A third stands out with the extensive use of red gold which gives it a resolutely snazzy personality. All three are driven by a 47110 caliber. This selfwinding movement, assembled using at least 151 components, delivers 42 hours of power reserve to the hour and minute hands, the direct-drive, and the data display set at 3 o’clock. Some of these elements are unveiled through the sapphire-crystal caseback, namely the golden oscillating weight adorned with circular graining and Côtes de Genève. When style’s diffused through every detail.
