1954 IWC Automatic - predecessor to the IWC Ingenieur?

Dear all,
I have an IWC dated to 1954 by the "date your IWC" web site. Movement no 1334497 (cal 8521), case no 1309282. The watch face has the IWC SHAFFHAUSEN logo and "AUTOMATIC" written on it. It has arabic numbers 3, 6, 9 and 12, and a date window.
From what I understand the movement calibre 8521 was also used in the early versions of the IWC Ingenieur. Based on this and the fact that the watch resembles the early IWC Ingenieur watches I was wondering if the 1954 IWC AUTOMATIC was a predecessor to the IWC Ingenieur?
The watch is recently serviced and apparently in good working order. I have tried in several ways to find an estimated value of my IWC AUTOMATIC, but without much luck so far. Can anyone suggest a value, or where I might find out?

Thanks & best regards
Bjørn Langseth

It was a "predecessor" only in a superficial sense. They shared the same movements, but the cases and dials were different.

You can do searches for vintage IWC and find many references to values, including those sold on eBay and other auction venues, as well as private sales on forums. In order to fine tune your search, seek those that share the same dial and case as yours, and that are in similar condition. If you can open the case, there will likely be a reference number stamped on the inside of the case back. That number would allow you to refine your search further.

Regards,

Tony C.

Hi Björn,
I agree with Tony C. The movement 8521 and its successors 8531 and 8541 were used in thousands of IWC watches during decades, other than the Ingenieurs. However the Ingenieurs had a for that time unique protection against magnetism using a soft iron inner case as well as special antimagnetique parts in the movement. Moreover, the Ingenieurs had improved shock and waterproof protection. Nevertheless, the 85xx series were among the best movements world wide and equipped with the Pellaton automatic winding system they were considered by many watch experts as the best automatic watches available. Unfortunately this does not reflect in the price. Having an 'Ingenieur' logo on the dial meant an increase of price in the range of 300-500%.
While the Ingenieurs go for 6000-8000 $, the 'automatic' have a market value of about 1000-1500$.
Regards,
Adrian,
(alwaysiwc).

The 'predecessor' or the 'inspiration' for the Ingenieur may have been the Mark 11, designed in 1947 by and for the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy to be used by navigators for celestial navigation, and also for pilots.
The movement in the Mark 11 was the cal 89, not automatic, but the Mark 11 had other qualities, mainly its a-magnetic characteristic, which was the fundamental quality of the first Ingenieurs.