Something Wicked This Way Comes: The Fake IWC Ingenieur Double Chronograph Titanium

We’re big fans of the fake IWC Ingenieur. It’s always had all the elements of a great timepiece: a long history as a tool watch extraordinaire, great Gerald Genta design DNA and a bombproof in-house movement. The Inge chronographs haven’t garnered nearly as much attention as their time-only brethren but we think that’s about to change. A new Inge chrono was spotted on the wrist of IWC’s CEO, Georges Kern, at SIHH earlier this year and since then, there’s been much speculation about it. A prototype? Nope. It’s the new Ingenieur Double Chronograph Titanium.

Officially announced last month in IWC’s enthusiast magazine, Watch International, the Inge “Doppelchrono” is a tour de force of the company’s most famous elements. The caliber 79230 is a modified Valjoux motor fitted with a split-second hand and extra pusher, the same setup as in IWC’s Top Gun Double Chrono. It’s great to see IWC using titanium again, a material the company used to great effect in the 1980s and ‘90s. Its use is bound to render this 45x16mm giant more wearable, particularly on the rubber strap. Design is modern and edgy but remains distinctly replica watches an Ingenieur, with the integrated strap, angular shape and exposed screws on the bezel. The blue accents on the dial and chrono hand are subtle but keep the piece from being too austere.

The new Ingenieur Double Chronograph Titanium hasn’t even shown up on IWC’s Website yet but you can read the full scoop on it in the iPad edition of Watch International.