The IWC Ingenieur SL, Reference 1832 was a model that was once marketed exclusively to engineers and never really became a commercial success. It was, however, a model that has been much sought after by collectors.
Following the launch of the new Ingenieur collection at Watches and Wonders Geneva, IWC Schaffhausen has released a short film about the Ignenieur SL, Reference 1832.
With striking features and visual design codes from the 1970s, the stainless steel watch with an integrated bracelet was created by renowned Geneva watch designer Gérald Genta. The film is set in 70s and titled “The most brilliant failure”, telling the true story of the Ingenieur SL, a narrative that ntertwines with a fictional plot about one particular model with a green dial, which eventually finds its way to a racing driver.
The narrative follows how the Ingenieur SL became IWC’s “most brilliant failure” In the film, this particular watch is handed to a racing driver to practically test its shock resistance on the race track.
The film later moves on to the Basel Watch Exhibition in 1976 and follows sales director Hannes Pantli in his attempts to sell the watch to the envisioned audience of “engineers”. After failing to achieve commercial success, the Ingenieur SL was then rediscovered around the turn of the millennium by collectors and other enthusiasts.
It is from here that we discover that the unspoiled Gérald Genta design reaches top prices at auctions. The short film tells the story of this particular watch as an example of the stories that each of the 598 Ingenieur SL watches ever produced could tell today.
The film premiere took place during the 82nd Members’ Meeting in Goodwood in West Sussex and can be viewed here.
