Vintage Ingenieur Automatic 1955 Rose Gold / Black

In Context

At 42.5 mm it is sized to the current mainstream: 40 mm is the median across every watch measured in this catalogue. At 14.5 mm it is a tall case, and it will catch on a cuff. The case back is open, so the movement is visible without taking the watch apart, and the sapphire crystal will resist everything short of deliberate abuse. 120 m is genuine swimming resistance — more than the shape of this watch suggests it would need.

The movement winds itself from the motion of your wrist. 44 hours of reserve carries it overnight, but not through a weekend in a drawer. At 28,800 vph the seconds hand advances 8 times a second.

IW3233-08 is one of 11 executions of the IW3233 base reference. Underneath they are the same watch; what separates this one is a black dial and a rose gold case. Introduced in 1955.

IWC

Black · Stainless Steel

IW3233-01 · 42.5 mm

IWC

Silver · Rose Gold

IW3233-03 · 42.5 mm

IWC

Grey · White Gold

IW3233-04 · 42.5 mm

IWC

Silver · Platinum

IW3233-05 · 42.5 mm

IWC

Black · Rose Gold

IW3233-07 · 42.5 mm

IWC

Ivory · Stainless Steel

IW3233-09 · 42.5 mm

IWC

Blue · Stainless Steel

IW3233-10 · 42.5 mm

IWC

Brown · Stainless Steel

IW3233-11 · 42.5 mm

+ 2 more variants in this family.

The 80111 is a slightly lower version of IWC's 80110, made for the Vintage Collection of 2008. The 80110 is the Pellaton automatic built for shock and magnetism rather than thinness. It powers 16 watches in this library. The [80110](/calibers/iwc-80110) of the 2005 Ingenieur carried the Pellaton winding system, a shock-absorbing suspension for the movement and a 44-hour reserve at 28,800 vph, with 28 jewels at 30 mm across; the 80111 reduces its height for the re-editions of the 1955 Ingenieur and the 1969 Da Vinci, which reproduce cases drawn when movements were thinner. In the library it powers 12 [Vintage Collection](/brands/iwc/vintage-collection) references, the Ingenieur Automatic 1955 and the tonneau Da Vinci Automatic 1969 in steel, rose gold and platinum, and 4 [Ingenieurs](/brands/iwc/ingenieur), including the ceramic-bezel 3234. 5 are limited editions. The [80110](/calibers/iwc-80110) is the base, and the [32111](/calibers/iwc-32111) the in-house movement that powers the current Ingenieur.

15 other watches in the library run the IWC 80111.

IWC

Ingenieur Automatic Ceramic Bezel / Bracelet

IW3234-04 · 44 mm

IWC

Vintage Aquatimer Automatic 1967 White Gold

IW3231-04 · 44 mm

IWC

Vintage Aquatimer Automatic 1967 Stainless Steel

IW3231-01 · 44 mm

IWC

Vintage Da Vinci Automatic 1969 Stainless Steel

IW5461-01 · 41 mm