IT'S HERE! The one and only, the IWC Big Ingenieur. After extensive search and a daunting
wait for it to cross the Atlantic, I can finally strap this beauty to my wrist.
Like many new IWC fans, I was initially attracted to the IWC Big Pilot, a truly fantastic time piece. It just
has everything, history, design, quality of finish, and an awesome movement. Very rightly the IWC flagship
model, and I was intent on it as my first IWC. I was just a bit concerned about two things, the BP is a
pure bred sport watch (part of its charm really) and that is just great, but I have too many sport watches
and not enough casual work watches, the second is the large crown. Due to the fact that I wear my watches
closer to my hand and fairly tight I was afraid it might be a comfort issue, so I wanted to try it on first,
when the AD showed me the watch it surprisingly did not bother me as much as I thought it might, due to the
fact that it offsets the size of the crown with the case height, still not perfectly comfortable though.
By pure chance, he had a Big Ingenieur on hold for another customer and I fell in love! It combined allot of what I
loved about the IWC Big Pilot and the Portuguese into one awesome watch! Sporty yet casual, looks at home with a suit or a pair of
jeans, that awesome movement and a display back, not to mention an integrated crown design and wears closer to
the wrist and it was my perfect size at 45.5 MM. WOW! I was sold!
As I said, took me about a month to find one, finally had to go overseas, but it is so worth it!
The dial in person has that mesmerizing "alive" quality to it, due to the contrast between the center section with the “I” decoration and rest of the dial, which has a deep, onyx quality to it, “sheer black” comes to mind. The silver indices on that dial look like bright stars in a clear night sky, just gorgeous. The finish on the case is excellent and consistent with what other great old names offer at this price range. And the contrast between the impeccably brushed and polished surfaces adds a lot of appeal.
The design of the case is stealthy, understated, sporty, and refined to a great extent. The over all effect is just superb, blending old with new, and is a perfect all round watch.
But as the old saying goes, greatness comes from the inside. And the humongous 51112 caliber is a truly great
thing indeed!!! With a Pellaton winding system and a seven-day power reserve, and finely decorated and
finished, it is truly something to behold through the sapphire case back. I am glad they offer the case back instead of the soft iron
lining, as I am much more likely to be caught staring at the movement than walking into a high energy area. I still can’t get over how huge the movement is.
You can tell the movement is something special when you wind the 7 days reserve, easier than on my 8 day PAM 233, very smooth and gives a feeling of a technical precision, if that makes sense to anyone. Very quiet and no vibrations, truly a classy watch all the way through.
The leather strap is very good quality, no complaints, but it did not blow me away. Breitling spoiled me here and my expectations are very high. That said it does show excellent workmanship, but tapers a bit too much for my tastes. I am already looking for an aftermarket brown strap, as I think it would look great, but the problem is that due to its very unique integrated design, I doubt I will find someone willing to take the job. ABP Paris already declined for that very reason. And there simply arent enough Big Inge owners out there to make the market attractive. So it looks like I might just go for an OEM one here.
The Big Inge scratched my IWC itch, for now at least. I am not foaming at the moutch for a Big Pilot, but the two are different enough that I would like to ultimately own both. Right now I just want to see what Breitling come out with, then its on to jaeger and maybe a Deepsea and a Nautilus eventually.
Very sorry about the awfull shots, dont have my flashes or light box today. I will definately take better shots later. Untill then these will have to do:
