IWC’s no-nonsense Ingenieur collection was so named because these timepieces, first launched in 1955, offered unparalleled resistance against magnetic fields and were thus aimed specifically at those who carry out a profession that involves regular contact with magnetic fields, namely that of the engineer (or Ingenieur in German).

The Ingenieur was also the first watch to feature the bidirectional winding system developed by IWC’s Technical Director Albert Pellaton and later, in the 1970s had the touch of legendary watch designer Gérald Genta conferred upon it.

In the 1980s, IWC fitted the Ingenieur collection with thin movements and used titanium for the first time in the collection. The collection reached the pinnacle of its magnetic resistance in 1989 with the launch of the Ingenieur Automatic 500,000 A/m.

INGENIEUR CHRONOGRAPH RACER by IWC

The Ingenieur is now set to take centre stage in IWC’s 2013 product collection, in celebration of the company’s debut as the Official Engineering Partner of the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 team. Although the Schaffhausen-based manufacture’s involvement with the top flight in motorsport is new, its associations with AMG are not. The brand first announced a partnership with the high-performance arm of Mercedes-Benz back in 2004, unveiling its first two AMG-branded timepieces the following year.

INGENIEUR CHRONOGRAPH RACER by IWC

IWC is set to present a number of new models in the Ingenieur collection at this year’s SIHH show, including more models linked to AMG but also timepieces inspired by seminal moments in Mercedes-Benz’s motorsport history. But the first to be revealed to the public is the Ingenieur Chronograph Racer, which boasts a new rubber strap with a leather or textile inlay.