IWC INGENIEUR REF: 3228

A friend came down for a visit recently.

We met up over afternoon tea to have a good chat.

He was wearing an IWC Ingenieur while I was wearing my Rolex Oysterquartz.

When the session was over, we decided to exchange our timepieces for a couple of days...

So I went home with this.

The IWC Ingenieur ref: 3228.

This watch is in one word... awesome.

40mm case size, wears slightly bigger due to the integrated bracelet design.

White textured dial, gold hands and indices.

Behold the finely made textured dial.

How can one not like it?

The bracelet is solid and well made.

Comfortable to wear, easy and smart system for link sizing.

Only gripe? No micro adjustments.

In other words, either it fits... or it doesn't.

There is a half link though so at least there's some fitting choices.

Case profile is on the thicker side.

Crown is big enough for easy operation.

Sloping case shape makes it easier and more comfortable to wear.

Watch is powered by the IWC in-house manufactured caliber 80110.

Features the proprietary Pellaton winding system.

Handwinding the movement feels buttery smooth.

Love the way the movement fills up most of the display caseback.

There are just too many cases of small movements being housed in gigantic cases and this is not one of them.

After wearing it for a couple of days, I must say I am thoroughly impressed at this piece.

Compared to the newer 40mm Ingenieur watches which houses the caliber 30110 (ETA-2892 or Sellita 300) and also a flatter looking dial, this model is the one to buy if I am in the market for a 40mm Ingy... Although this one is not Antimagnetic (due to the sapphire caseback), I think it is an acceptable drawback due to the fact that this is a much nicer watch with a more premium movement.

Word has it that only 600-800 of these were produced.

Well, watch is now back with the owner and I do miss it.

If given the chance to purchase one and if I have the spare funds available, I would only say "where do you want the money deposited?" :-)