Apart from the less popular FA jones, I wonder why there is very little or almost zero mentioning about IWC's next sporty and cool looking watch the Ingeniuer Chrono AMG.
It was like love at first sight when I first saw it at the AD. The combination of the Ti case colour, light weight and attention capturing red chrono hand makes it a rep you want to own.
Let's bring on a spotlight again and do a review for this stunning looking watch.
A very brief start,
Both IWC and Mercedes are linked by an affinity of pure design and a passion for precision.
With highly successful involvement in engineering from the 2 companies. The Ingeniuer Automatic AMG and Ingeniuer Chrono AMG are produced to emphasize the status of both companies as engineers of high performance machines.
Some spec and description of the watch
1.)Self winding automatic movement
2.)Chrono with central seconds hand (6 o'clock position)
3.)Power reserve of 44 hrs when fully wound
4.)Screw in crown
5.)Sapphire glass, AR on both sides
6.)Water resistant to 120m
7.)Case height 13.5mm
8.)Diameter 42.5mm (the rep is slightly smaller in diameter but the difference is so small that no one will notice)
The rep factory has been trying to rep this baby. It turned out well but with too many flaws.
Version 1
Below is a pic of the first version of AMG chrono with the incorrect date window. If not for the date window, I think the dial is quite nicely repped as it looks pretty close to the gen.
The first version AMG Chrono rep also comes with another major flaw and that is the solid caseback comes with completely wrong details. (I lost the pic but I think you know what I mean)
Version 2
When this batch was released, the rep factory removed the date window and improve the quality of the dial. It was a very big improvement but they brought in 2 major flaws. Firstly, the chrono hand which was supposed to be bright red in colour comes with an incorrect fading red and this made the hand looked dull and screamed fake.
The next flaw was, instead of using a Ti caseback, the rep factory used the incorrect SS caseback which was meant for Ing chrono.
Version 3
This is latest version with many improvements done. Much much better dial, chrono hand is painted with the correct bright red colour and the rep factory even went all the way to rep the Ti AMG chrono caseback. Beside this, the rep factory also rep the kevlar strap to suit our taste.
This version is the best IMHO. You cannot tell the differences even if you compare it next to a gen.
Problem with AMG chrono
This rep uses a A7750 movement. The normal layout for A7750 will have a running second sub dial at 9 o'clock. However, in order to run the second sub dial at 6 o'clock. The rep factory modified the A7750 by using a tranfer gear to do that. The IWC portugese reps are the first batch that uses the modified A7750. However, due to mechanism strain and stress. Some members encountered issues like the watch will die off or movement got jammed. Because of this, many members didn't want to take the risk and went for other reps. I guess this maybe one of the main reason why it didn't get enough popularity.
Let's begin the comparison between the gen and rep.
From the first look, one may find difficulties to identify which is which because the rep factory reallydid a good job in replicating it. All the details on the dial are of high acurracy to the gen. The rep factory also improved the chrono hand by painted it with bright red colour (See the difference is colour between the 3rd version and the first version shown above). The off white stitch on the kevlar strap is also very well made except the stitch length is longer on the rep (but it is bearly noticeable)
One negative point about the dial is that the red numerals look dark and dull as compared to the gen.
From a closer view, indices next to the sub dials (Look inside green circle) exposed more than the gen. However, unless you are a die hard fan of IWC. This one is really really hard to tell.
As for the caseback, the rep factory did a good job too (although not perfect). The rep caseback looks gen from a distance. But, if you look closely again, the engravement on the gen look deep, sharp and neat while the rep looks rough. Good example is the tree circled in green. Look at the difference.
Kudos to the rep factory again. The buckle at one end of the kevlar strap is a spot on. It was rep with high accuracy. However, as the pic show. The Ti surface of the buckle (same as the case) looks like sandblasted coating showing lots of "snowflakes" whereas the Ti colour gen is uniformly even.
But again, you need to look very close to see the difference.
The gen comes with double sided AR and gives a blue tint when expose to some lighting at certain angle. The rep is more inferior in this case, it is single AR coated from the inside of the crystal and show a faint blue tint too. But hey... What I gathered is this is the only ingeniuer rep model that comes with AR. The rest of the non-chrono ingeniuer and Ingen SS chrono do not have this. So, it is a bounus IMO.
Summary,
From the above pics, the AMG chrono rep is very well replicated and one of the super that is closest to the gen article. If not for the modified A7750, this rep will sell like hotcakes. But with some servicing, this watch is worth the risk IMO. The weight and the overall construction and feel is good.
This watch is definitely worth for a review.
Thanks for viewing
It was like love at first sight when I first saw it at the AD. The combination of the Ti case colour, light weight and attention capturing red chrono hand makes it a rep you want to own.
Let's bring on a spotlight again and do a review for this stunning looking watch.
A very brief start,
Both IWC and Mercedes are linked by an affinity of pure design and a passion for precision.
With highly successful involvement in engineering from the 2 companies. The Ingeniuer Automatic AMG and Ingeniuer Chrono AMG are produced to emphasize the status of both companies as engineers of high performance machines.
Some spec and description of the watch
1.)Self winding automatic movement
2.)Chrono with central seconds hand (6 o'clock position)
3.)Power reserve of 44 hrs when fully wound
4.)Screw in crown
5.)Sapphire glass, AR on both sides
6.)Water resistant to 120m
7.)Case height 13.5mm
8.)Diameter 42.5mm (the rep is slightly smaller in diameter but the difference is so small that no one will notice)
The rep factory has been trying to rep this baby. It turned out well but with too many flaws.
Version 1
Below is a pic of the first version of AMG chrono with the incorrect date window. If not for the date window, I think the dial is quite nicely repped as it looks pretty close to the gen.
The first version AMG Chrono rep also comes with another major flaw and that is the solid caseback comes with completely wrong details. (I lost the pic but I think you know what I mean)
Version 2
When this batch was released, the rep factory removed the date window and improve the quality of the dial. It was a very big improvement but they brought in 2 major flaws. Firstly, the chrono hand which was supposed to be bright red in colour comes with an incorrect fading red and this made the hand looked dull and screamed fake.
The next flaw was, instead of using a Ti caseback, the rep factory used the incorrect SS caseback which was meant for Ing chrono.
Version 3
This is latest version with many improvements done. Much much better dial, chrono hand is painted with the correct bright red colour and the rep factory even went all the way to rep the Ti AMG chrono caseback. Beside this, the rep factory also rep the kevlar strap to suit our taste.
This version is the best IMHO. You cannot tell the differences even if you compare it next to a gen.
Problem with AMG chrono
This rep uses a A7750 movement. The normal layout for A7750 will have a running second sub dial at 9 o'clock. However, in order to run the second sub dial at 6 o'clock. The rep factory modified the A7750 by using a tranfer gear to do that. The IWC portugese reps are the first batch that uses the modified A7750. However, due to mechanism strain and stress. Some members encountered issues like the watch will die off or movement got jammed. Because of this, many members didn't want to take the risk and went for other reps. I guess this maybe one of the main reason why it didn't get enough popularity.
Let's begin the comparison between the gen and rep.
From the first look, one may find difficulties to identify which is which because the rep factory reallydid a good job in replicating it. All the details on the dial are of high acurracy to the gen. The rep factory also improved the chrono hand by painted it with bright red colour (See the difference is colour between the 3rd version and the first version shown above). The off white stitch on the kevlar strap is also very well made except the stitch length is longer on the rep (but it is bearly noticeable)
One negative point about the dial is that the red numerals look dark and dull as compared to the gen.
From a closer view, indices next to the sub dials (Look inside green circle) exposed more than the gen. However, unless you are a die hard fan of IWC. This one is really really hard to tell.
As for the caseback, the rep factory did a good job too (although not perfect). The rep caseback looks gen from a distance. But, if you look closely again, the engravement on the gen look deep, sharp and neat while the rep looks rough. Good example is the tree circled in green. Look at the difference.
Kudos to the rep factory again. The buckle at one end of the kevlar strap is a spot on. It was rep with high accuracy. However, as the pic show. The Ti surface of the buckle (same as the case) looks like sandblasted coating showing lots of "snowflakes" whereas the Ti colour gen is uniformly even.
But again, you need to look very close to see the difference.
The gen comes with double sided AR and gives a blue tint when expose to some lighting at certain angle. The rep is more inferior in this case, it is single AR coated from the inside of the crystal and show a faint blue tint too. But hey... What I gathered is this is the only ingeniuer rep model that comes with AR. The rest of the non-chrono ingeniuer and Ingen SS chrono do not have this. So, it is a bounus IMO.
Summary,
From the above pics, the AMG chrono rep is very well replicated and one of the super that is closest to the gen article. If not for the modified A7750, this rep will sell like hotcakes. But with some servicing, this watch is worth the risk IMO. The weight and the overall construction and feel is good.
This watch is definitely worth for a review.
Thanks for viewing
