A certain Watch Snob's opinion

My sentiments exactly. There is no debate, more like sensitive responses :) Assuming that the Watch Snob's objective is to stir, he/she/they has or have definitely succeeded.

I guess you can also reverse it, for someone who does know a lot about watches, Rolex is still the obvious, easy choice.

revo-online.com/dr-jekyll-mr-hyde-the-strange-case-of-iwc-schaffhausens-sihh-2013s-ingenieur/

Wonder who annonymous A is. I agree with him.

I am not so interested in Mr. A as he prefers to be anonymous. One word of advice to Mr. A: please, don't buy an IWC watch, you will be heavily disappointed. And about that disappointment, I couldn't care less. The article in itself is interesting, though.

Kind regards,
Paul

' The original Ingenieur was created in 1955 when Albert Pellaton wanted to design a tougher watch for the active Engineers and two of the signatures of the original intention was the early attempt to resist water, moisture better and more importantly to insulate the watch from the effect of surrounding magnetic field. This included the use of non magnetic materials like Beryllium and beryllium alloy balance wheel and IWC’s attempt to protect the watch movement with soft iron inner case. Early movement components were less precise, more delicate and was oscillating at a lower frequency than what we are used to today, as a result, even a relatively low magnetic field could affect the accuracy of the watch. Today, with modern technology, precision component manufacturing and a uniformly 4Hz movement, magnetic field is less of a problem. Certainly, the pursue of horology should be relentless beyond functional objectives, but we can at least say that the new IWC has achieved its original intention, to provide a watch rugged enough even for the toughest engineers '.

The writer certainly skimmed over the crux of the matter, nothing is mentioned with regard to any tweaking over and above any other Schaffhausen products that definately do fall foul to hi-fi speakers and airport security....if a reader is a newbie and reads it quick they might be led to believe this was all taken care of.

To be brutally honest, I am getting tired of all these comments and discussions about what IWCs right strategy should be, and what their watches should look like. Those guys like Mr. A apparently have lost a link to the real world.
Allow me to put it into clear words: IWC's priority number 1, and thus Kern's priority number 1 in his role as CEO, is to earn as much money as possible by boosting sales and if possible reducing costs. It is exactly the same priority as any other proper business company has!

Whatever IWC is doing, be it creating watches which are reflecting the history, or using new materials, moving to in-house movements, working with celebrities, or not doing all of the above, is simply the outcome of a careful analysis of IWC executives on how to best reach prio 1, which is earning money.

Now to the question: Is IWC doing the right things to reach prio 1? Well, if we simply look at the results - and results are not satisfaction of single people but clear numbers in terms of revenues and profit - I understand that they are doing a great job.

So, I express here my compliments to Mr. Kern and the whole IWC staff. You have done a great job. I wish I would be as successful in my business as you guys are in yours!

"Watch Snob" writes like he is speaking for the World, rather than just himself.
Watch making is a business, like a lot of other specialty businesses. By making watches for a cross-section of what the marketplace wants it has created an enviable position for itself. Making watches, like any other business, is about making money--and it looks like IWC is doing a good job in that area.

I really don't understand why you continue to use this Forum to give oxygen to so-called "Watch Snob". There are other Forums to pursue this particular thread. I think you are abusing this Forum's hospitality.

It's crucial to have pluralistic views and perspectives in any forum Rave. Not just one dimensional thinking. It is a big world we live in and I believe that part of any basic business hospitality is to be able to hear and accept the different feedback from its customers, positive or negative. Furthermore, these are the opinions of IWC lovers or once hardcore fans who fell in love with the brand for specific reasons to begin with. Not just rival or competitive 'haters'. It's a shame to alienate them without understanding why.