news


Introducing the IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Edition “Cancellara”

Español Pусский
July 2017


The Schaffhausen manufacture is honouring Swiss legendary cyclist Fabian Cancellara with a special 77 piece limited edition, and a 77 km long bike race.

IWC charity auction: The hammer falls to a watch lover from the USA

The Tour de France is now well underway, and for the next few weeks the world’s most famous cycling race will captivate sports fans. Surely looking to capitalize on the momentum, IWC has announced a well-timed release of a new cycling-inspired timepiece.

A limited-edition Ingenieur model has been made especially to honour brand ambassador Fabian Cancellara. The Swiss, who is also known as “Spartacus”, has had a legendary cycling career. As a two-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion, Fabian is one of the most recognized Swiss sports personalities.

IWC charity auction: The hammer falls to a watch lover from the USA

The Schaffhausen watch manufacturer has launched a special-edition timepiece in his name. The Ingenieur Chronograph Edition “Cancellara” is limited to 77 watches – apparently 7 is Fabian Cancellara’s favourite number.

The watch is powered by the in-house 69370 calibre movement, which features a bidirectional pawl-winding system and delivers up to 46 hours of power reserve.

IWC charity auction: The hammer falls to a watch lover from the USA

It is all packaged in a satin-finished case made of titanium. The light and robust material is also used to make the frames on some of the world’s best racing bicycles, keeping everything on theme.

The dial is silver-plated, offset with the tachymeter scale and subdials that are galvanized in black. Red elements on the hands provide some nice contrast to add to the sporty look of the timepiece.

IWC charity auction: The hammer falls to a watch lover from the USA

The watch is paired with a black embossed strap made from a special rubber that is highly resistant to heat and the elements. That does make it more durable, but it would have been nice to see the brand use, perhaps, recycled bicycle tires to source the strap, which would have gone nicely with IWC’s otherwise impressive ecologically and socially responsible production.

My favourite highlight of the watch, however, can be found on the rear end. The glass back cover provides a view of the movement, and is has been printed with a spoke design that mimics the look of a bike wheel.

IWC charity auction: The hammer falls to a watch lover from the USA

The limited-edition Ingenieur “Cancellara” is available as of the beginning of July 2017 exclusively in IWC boutiques.

To mark the launch, 25 cycling enthusiasts were given the chance to go head-to-head with the retired racer. The so called “Spartacus Ride” took participants along the legendary Swiss cyclist’s favourite 77 kilometres, stretching from Bern through Emmental (yes, like the cheese) and back to Bern, which is Fabian’s home town.