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Old 17 March 2022, 12:19 AM   #27
Ravager135
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 4,154
IWC leans far too hard on their Pilot and Portuguese lines. That's their own fault. I agree completely with your evaluation. While we may not all be fans of the Genta designs, there is clearly a demand out there for them and I think IWC would do well to re-capitalized on it. I think a 41mm chrono and a 39mm time-only offering would be reasonable and fill a niche.

IWC pivoted to making the Ingenieur an online, custom order offering a few years back and you really saw them disappear from ADs as in-stock options. I appreciated their early approach to the "e-boutique" experience, but it just didn't work on a watch that wasn't super popular to begin with.

IWC also underutilizes its Aquatimer line. They really need to establish a consistent design language with their diver. There is no reason it cannot compete with Tudor, Omega, Breitling in this segment of the market. The reason it doesn't is that no one really cares about the Aquatimer. I have always been of the opinion that (like bringing back the Genta design) IWC should go back to the vintage-inspired super compressor case. JLC has had some success with this in their Polaris line. I don't think the Aquatimer will ever truly compete with the more iconic divers on the market, but IWC could do a whole lot more to push these sports watches.

I'd add, there's a ton of rumors that IWC will be updating the Ingenieur line this year. People have been trying to place orders and IWC has reportedly told customers that orders will reopen after April. Let's see what happens.
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