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The IWC Ingenieur Constant Force Tourbillon

For SIHH last year, International Watch Company (IWC) released a watch that had all of the watch pundits talking. The Constant Force mechanism maintains a consistent stream of energy. This allows the watch to be extremely precise over a 48 hour period without winding the watch again. IWC uses two barrels which provide the torque necessary to keep Constant Force Tourbillon engaged.

The Constant Force Tourbillon from the Ingenieur line is crafted from both 950 platinum and scratch resistant black ceramic. The contrast of colors on the case is quite stunning on this example of Haute Horlogerie. The case features a fixed bezel with the famous five indentations, which form a Pentagon.

The case also protrudes slightly on the right side cupping the ridged main crown screwed in for maximum resistance against water pressure. The timepiece is fitted with a black alligator leather strap featuring white contrast stitching for a sportier aesthetic. Securing this piece to the wrist is classic tang type buckle made entirely from platinum.

The dial carries a wonderfully decorative guilloche design on the central dial, which serves to highlight the 3 subdials. At 9 is the largest aperture on the watch revealing the carefully crafted constant force tourbillon. This tourbillon rotates about itself once every minute and it integrates a continuous seconds counter.

At 1 o’clock is a double moon phase indicator giving the phases of the moon for both the northern and the southern hemispheres. The moon phase also carries a register which gives a countdown until the next full moon. At the 4 position is the power reserve indicator, displayed in retrograde format. This watch uses Arabic numerals at the 12 and 6 position; however, the 12 is partially obscured by the moon phase at the 1 position. The hands are coated with lume for the reading of the time at night.

The IWC Ingenieur Constant Force Tourbillon carries the 94800 series movement, which is manual wound with about 4 days (96 hours) of power reserve. The movement is visible through the sapphire crystal case back. Conversely, the sapphire crystal protecting the dial is glare proofed on both sides. This model is water resistant to 120 meters (12 bars). IWC packs all of these features into this timepiece, which measures in at 46mm across and 12mm for the case height.

 

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Elastic