THE ESSENTIALS

MAKE: IWC
MODEL: 666A
YEAR: 1959
BOX/PAPERS: NO/NO
CASE DIAMETER: 36mm
CASE MATERIAL: STAINLESS STEEL
BRACELET MATERIAL: LEATHER
MOVEMENT: AUTOMATIC

When the name IWC Ingenieur is mentioned, the first watch that often comes to mind is the IWC Ingenieur SL (ref. 1832), introduced in 1976 by Gérald Genta. Launched four years after the now slightly more famous Genta design, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, and in the same year as the other sibling, Patek Philippe Nautilus, the Ingenieur SL shares some of Genta's most recognisable features: a bold, angular case, integrated bracelet, and distinctive bezel.

However, few realise that unlike the Royal Oak and Nautilus, the IWC Ingenieur began its life as a "tool watch" nearly 20 years before its iconic siblings. It all started when Albert Pellaton was appointed as IWC's new technical director in 1944, who led the development of IWC’s first automatic watch, powered by the calibre 81 and 85, in 1950. A few years later, in 1955, the improved calibre 852x was developed, an automatic movement encased in a soft-iron core, earning the name "Ingenieur" (which translates to "engineer").

The example you see here is the first-generation Ingenieur, ref. 666A, featuring the calibre 852—the first-ever automatic and anti-magnetic IWC. Notably, it is also one of the first IWCs to carry the famous ‘Arrow Logo,’ reminiscent of the Swiss thunderbolt icon that warns of electrical currents.

This particular watch is in superb condition retaining its original dauphine hands with radium plots (although low level due to it being 59), a near flawless silver dial with the lume plots intact. If you look at the close-up shots, you can see the radium burn around the markers.  The 36mm case looks to have been polished in the past but remains full. It runs excellently at +4 s/d, 265 amps, with a beat error of 0.4 ms.