3521 IWC 'JLC' Ingenieur

Vintage IWC is like chocolate cake. There are fancier desserts and there are more simple deserts. But chocolate cake sometimes just really, really hits the spot like nothing else can. The creativity and sheer dogged ambition of the brand under Günter Blümlein really has no late-80s peers. The team reached places IWC haven't been able to since. The midsized Ingenieur is one such example. There are ample options to choose from, from the early Graph Paper dials to the highly technical 3508. This is the 3521, it’s the end of the run, and it’s really a JLC. Black Forest gateau it is. 

Blümlein was put in charge of LMH in 1980, who had just acquired both JLC and IWC. But it didn’t start that way. Of all the 25 references, this is the fifth and final Ingenieur SL, which was the only to use a JLC ébauche. IWC’s own 3508 accomplished its wild 500K A/m through a nobium balance. And then somehow its replacement was ‘merely’ 80K A/m. But the truth is more impressive than headlines. To make the 3521 a ‘professional’ offering, IWC pursued a COSC certification. In order to meet the standards, gone was the ETA base. To replace it, IWC, like most, rang JLC. So no, you’re not getting a 500K a-mag rating. But you are getting a JLC 889 ébauche, which is an all-around more robust bit of kit and even finished like you’d hope. Moreover, to aid in the quest to shield magnetism, the rotor weight is solid 950 platinum. This generation was, in fact, the opposite of a corner-cutting exercise, but the headlines don’t tell that story.

Over all automatic Ingenieur SL references, as in ever, the best estimate put together so far by our friends at @siemswatches put total production around 5000-6000 examples. Most estimate that there are probably fewer than 1500 of these chronometer-ref. 3521s. Many regard the original Royal Oak, ref. 5402, a somewhat rare watch, and that was made in 6050 examples. A great comparably midsized 14970ST, which uses the exact same JLC 889 ébauche, is just under 30K or thereabouts today. IWC’s 3521 won’t trouble you for 1/3 of that. It’s one of few integrated bracelet pieces I can wholeheartedly recommend at a somewhat accessible value. Everyone loves the mid-sized Ingenieur because it’s a watch of the people. For now, at least.

This example bears a remarkably strong case with a great tritium dial, a warm cream matched in the hands and all pips present. The dial shows no marks of signs of damage. The bezel has been centered, that's just marmite so make of it what you do. But it's recently serviced and comes from a well-regarded German retailer.