An IWC Ingenieur SL on auction

IWC Schaffhausen is donating a collector's piece from the Ingenieur generation for the traditional charity auction on its Web site to benefit the peace work of UNESCO.

For a long time now, the pre-Christmas internet auction by the Swiss manufacturer IWC has had a fixed place in the diary of watch enthusiasts from all over the world. And with good reason: After all, for the sixth time, an exquisite classic will appear on the virtual auctioneer's desk. The secret of this year's vintage object at www.iwc.ch is revealed today.

The Ingenieur has become a veritable cult watch and a hallmark of the factory. IWC Schaffhausen is donating an Ingenieur SL, Ref. 1832, dating from 1982, for auction on the Internet in 2003. The name Ingenieur pointed the way forward when the first wrist-watch in the Ingenieur family from IWC went into production in 1955. The Ingenieurs' time came when technical advances after the war years laid the foundations for a new era. The IWC engineers were almost obsessed with the idea of constructing a perfectly protected, extremely accurate watch for the new age, which could justifiably bear the name
Ingenieur. IWC had struck precisely the right chord, and the Ingenieur was a huge success. Its successor, the Ingenieur SL, Ref. 1832, came onto the market twenty years later in 1976. Visually inspired by the spirit of the times, it counts as one of the very best design studies. A brand-new, unworn model from the year 1982, which has not even been overhauled, will be auctioned off in December. The movement was merely cleaned and re-oiled in September 2003.
The Ingenieur SL is super-antimagnetic up to 80,000 amperes per metre, water-resistant to 120 metres and extremely resistant to shocks. The Calibre 8541B movement with its unprecedented reliability is protected against magnetism by a soft iron inner jacket. This is a connoisseur's item, which, with its clear design, represents a professional approach to time.

The auction will be held on IWC's home page (www.iwc.ch) and will open for bids on 10 December 2003. The reserve price is 7,350 US dollars. Incremental bids of be-tween 50 und 200 US dollars are acceptable. The hammer will fall for the last time between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. CET on 17 December 2003. The proceeds are earmarked for UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. With the guiding principle that peace is rooted in the minds of men, UNESCO seeks to contribute to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science and culture.

By entering a bid, you will have every chance of becoming the proud owner of this connoisseur's item. Detailed information about the progress of the auction can be downloaded from the Web site from 28 November 2003.

www.iwc.ch
Contact: [email protected]
(please credit Europa Star)

Source: IWC media release
October 2003