Earlier this year, at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2025, IWC Schaffhausen showed us the Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar 41, a watch that finally brought our favourite calendar complication to a wonderful sports elegance collection. It may seem unbelievable that IWC has never included the perpetual calendar in an Ingenieur case but that is how history has somehow worked out. So, as IWC itself observes, now the Gerald Genta design finally meets the Kurt Klaus-developed perpetual calendar module that allows all indications to be adjusted by just one crown.
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Reports frame this release as a major step for the modern Ingenieur line, which was reintroduced in 2023 in this current shape and form. Now, a high complication is not a game-changer for any given collection but it does signify a certain level of confidence on the part of the brand. It might even be read as an indication that demand for this long-missing feature in the IWC range is a real thing. After all, the manufacture has limited resources to devote its in-demand complications to. Basically, more Ingenieur perpetual calendars means fewer perpetual calendars in other sought-after collections, most notably the Pilot’s and Portugieser collections.
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Of course, by incorporating a high complication, IWC is giving the sports chic or sports elegance collection better “street credibility,” so to speak. The Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar 41 draws its primary aesthetic cues from the 1976 Ingenieur SL (Ref. 1832), as we and many others have observed. The stainless steel case, which IWC lists at 41mm but is more precisely 41.6mm in diameter and 13.4mm thick (we measured this at the fair and it is confirmed by Monochrome), retains its signature look. As you can easily see, this includes the characteristic round bezel secured by five (functional) screws and a seamlessly integrated stainless steel H-link bracelet.
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Reviewers have praised the “flawless” case finishing, which features an elaborate mix of satin-finished and polished surfaces to accentuate its sculptural lines. Yet it should be remembered that this very strong look is take-it-or-leave-it, as it should be. The bracelet, which uses a butterfly clasp, is noted as being true to the original design while being adapted for current tastes, and we join other commentators in wishing for a modern micro-adjustment system.
A highlight of the watch is the textured blue dial, which features the Ingenieur’s characteristic “Grid” pattern. This is not merely printed or stamped but created in “negative relief,” a complex process of applying small lines and squares to the dial base, giving it exceptional depth. The perpetual calendar information (pad-printed) is split across the three subdials including the date (3 o’clock); month and perpetual moon phase (6 o’clock); and day of the week and leap year (9 o’clock).
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To maintain balance, IWC did something notable and unusual for contemporary mechanical watches: the watch has no second hand. It is easy to miss this detail even though it has been highlighted in multiple hands-on reviews (and now this one too). This is really because the seconds are often an after-thought but in a perpetual calendars, where things appear to move slowly (versus a chronograph), the absence of running seconds is significant and is yet another take-or-leave-it move. Applied hour markers and rhodium-plated hands are all treated with SuperLuminova.
Powering the watch is the IWC-manufactured 82600 calibre, visible through a sapphire caseback. A key feature is the aforementioned moon phase indicator, which is accurate to one day in 577.5 years, if the watch keeps running. As usual here, all indications are adjusted via the screw-down crown, allowing the case to be free of any odd recessed pushers or correctors. Water-resistance is rated to 100 metres.
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