The first model to seriously lure me into vintage watch collecting was the ref. 666 Ingenieur. I was strongly drawn to its clean design – simple, well-balanced, functional, yet also clearly high-quality. The history of IWC, and more specifically the development of the Ingenieur line was another attraction, including, of course, the Albert Pellaton designed cal. 85x series movements, and the extraordinary antimagnetic properties of the cases.
I’m also happy to admit that I was very attracted to the iconic lightning bolt logo, which is not only aesthetically pleasing to my eye, but also instantly sets the model line apart from all others. It was a brilliantly simple marketing device, as the both the name and logo implied the technical importance of the model line in succinct, handsome, and eye-catching terms.
I bought and sold a few ref. 666 models through the early years of my collecting, and enjoyed each one. But I was actually on a refining path that led, ultimately, to a version which I had really fallen for when I first saw an image of it posted on a watch forum. It was the one with a (non-date) dial that featured Arabic markers at the 3, 6, 9, and 12 positions. After a number of years, and thanks to a collector with whom I had developed a friendship, I was able to obtain a beautiful example, and haven’t subsequently had a strong desire to add another ref. 666.
During that period of time, however, my attraction to the ref. 866 models, which had been sparked early on, grew. And soon after I acquired my first – a silver dial 866AD in mint condition – I became hooked. The case, both thinner and slightly wider than the 666, has great proportion, including just the right substance and heft. Its 37mm diameter is just shy of being too big for my small wrist, and would not look out of place amongst today’s many oversized (in my view) offerings.
The 866 dials are, to my mind and eye, masterpieces. And I am not prone to hyperbole, so I mean that quite literally. I have seen and worn many top-class watches, both vintage and contemporary, and I consider the dials made for the 866 Ingenieurs to be as impressive and beautiful as any.
My exalted opinion of them is related to several factors. First, the surfaces themselves are exceptional. The silver ‘soleil’ or ‘sunray’ pattern dial was the one most frequently fitted, and they rival the beauty and quality of any silvered dials ever made. The anthracite versions are truly extraordinary and unique, as the color changes from varying shades of blue to grey to black in an instant, depending on the angle and intensity of the light striking it. Larry Seiden, Marco Schönenberger and David Ter Molen aptly described these particular dials as “mercurial” in their important “Dial Variations” article. Whatever process was used, and whether or not gold dust was included in the surface material as has been suggested, the effect is mesmerizing.
(As a reference note, there were also blue sunray, black and white dials produced for the 866 models, though the latter two are very rare.)
The shimmering sunray dials were then complimented with bold, yet perfectly proportioned white gold hour markers, which in turn sandwiched a thin line of luminous material (i.e. tritium), and a fine, printed second track. The hour hands were classic, tritium-filled baton style, and the distinctive 'paddle' second-hands were used by IWC only on the 866 Ingenieurs and Aquatimers models during that period. Completing the beautifully balanced dials were the IWC signature (with the applied “IWC” being added to later production models) and the Ingeneiur logo.
At the risk – again – of sounding overly enamored with this particular model, I do believe that the dial, hour markers, hands, and identifying text are both finely balanced, and exceptionally functional (i.e. legible).
Now, given that I have always had a preference for simple, well-balanced designs, it should come as no surprise that I prefer non-date watches. In most cases (no pun intended), that wouldn’t be a notable point. However, there were many more 866AD (date) Ingenieurs made and sold than 866A (non-date) models. And during the past 10–15 years or so, as the popularity of all vintage Ingenieur models skyrocketed, the number of the rarer versions dwindled as they were absorbed into private collections. That combination of factors did, as a result, require me to show a good deal of patience. But I was firmly resolved to find at least one good example of a non-date 866, so I kept searching.
(continued in part 2 below...)
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