IWC | 'JUMBO' INGENIEUR SL, REF 1832 STAINLESS STEEL BRACELET WATCH WITH DATE CIRCA 1978

The Ingenieur SL 'Jumbo' was created by none other than the great Gérald Genta himself. Famous for designing the Royal Oak and the Nautilus among other legendary timepieces, he was commissioned by IWC at the height of the quartz crisis in the mid-1970s. The brilliant designer subsequently helped the company launch the 3rd generation of their Ingenieur-line, which was released with a radically modernized design.

The Ingenieur SL offered deep magnetic resistance and was targeted at engineers, factory workers or any tasteful professional who was exposed to high magnetic fields. This iteration's cushion-shaped case features 5 distinct recesses in the bezel which are used to apply the screwing tools and further serve as decoration for the watch. Since the bezel was screwed on to a random position, the recesses on the bezel are aligned slightly differently on every watch, giving each one a somewhat different appearance. Rather than a commercial success it turned out to be difficult for IWC to sell these watches and it is estimated that less than 1,000 were ever sold, making this watch increasingly scarce in today's educated market.

Thanks to the popularity of other watches designed by the great Gérald Genta, the IWC 'Jumbo' also benefits from increasing attention and is a collectible and wearable piece. With a 40mm case and wide bracelet, the Ingenieur SL is still as modern today as it was in the 1970s, making it without question a future collection