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International
watch Company
Vintage Ingenieur 1972
An addict's confession, March 2000 Basel/ London
I told myself no more watches. I will not buy another. No sir, not me. Even if I do find one that I like in Basel, it will be too expensive for me anyway. Met Hans Zbinden and Michael Friedberg at the Sunday vintage watch market. Saw lots of watches that I would love to add to my collection. Nevertheless, I'm still holding onto the fortress. I did not buy anything. Michael showed me his prize catch, the beautiful jumbo SL Ingenieur ! Would love to buy something like that but the price is, how should I say, beyond what I can afford.
A week later, at the Portobello market, James Dowling showed me some interesting, mouth-watering Rolexes. There's the Rolex Prince, ivory Explorer II and the Comex (by the way, he was wearing a Milgauss on his wrist). Well, I'm glad that after all these, the fortress still holds. I was proud of myself, really proud.
On Monday, before my flight home, we had lunch in the city area near the bank. After lunch, Bryan suggested visiting Somlo vintage wristwatches at Piccadally's. He mentioned a nice watch I was looking for, that got me interested. It was rather near, we took a bus and after a short walk, we found Somlo. Once inside the store, the vintage Ingenieur mesmerized me. Manning the store was a nice gentleman. He showed me the watch and even removed the caseback to let me check the movement. A beautiful caliber 8541 which employs the Pellaton self-winding mechanism (I believe somehow, Basel had got something to do with this, although remotedly). The crown winds smoothly like cream. This is partly because the watch has just been serviced. The rest, like they say, is history. Well, there you have it, I blew it. Gonna go back into rehab now, the doctor is calling my name...........
To read more about the history of the
ingenieur, please read this great article written by Michael Friedberg
Click here
