While the IWC Ingenieur can trace its origins as far back as 1955, the collection was revamped in a rather significant manner in the 1970s following the popularisation of stainless steel luxury sports watches. Designed by Gerald Genta himself, the new Ingenieur was a slim case much like Genta’s Royal Oak that featured an integrated bracelet. Furthermore, it even featured a bezel with four rivets, much like the Royal Oak’s exposed screws. Eventually, following a period of insufficient sales, IWC decided to launch a smaller variant of the Ingenieur, the ref. 3506, in the mid-80s. Following on from that collection came what we have here, the ref. 3508, in 1989. With an emphasis on IWC’s elegant design language, the ref. 3508 utilized design touches such as gold hour markers and hands to swap the Ingenieur’s tool-watch design with a sophisticated look that echoed IWC's dress watch aesthetic while remaining true to the new Ingenieur. Produced only for a short period of time until 1992, the ref. 3508 was produced as a tool watch that was able to withstand intense magnetic fields that were up to 500,000 A/m in strength, as its case engraving and dial states. Today the ref. 3508 is a rare variant of the Ingenieur that collectors still love to see thanks to its gold touches, wearable 34mm size, and genuine rarity on account of its short production run.

Watch is in overall excellent condition. The steel case has some light scratches and a couple of small nicks on the yellow gold bezel and case sides. The engraving on the case side is crisp and still has most of its enamel intact. The case back has well-defined engravings with some minor surface wear. The dial and hands are excellent. Watch retains its yellow gold IWC fish-logo crown in excellent condition. The integrated bracelet has light play between the links and currently fits a 7 1/4" wrist, with 23 links, 6 of which are removable. Please note that the watch ticks at time of cataloging, but timekeeping is poor and a service is recommended.

A watch that combined luxury and an impressive magnetic resistance, as is proudly displayed on its case and dial, the IW3508 reveals IWC at the peak of their powers before they were turned into a pure luxury watchmaker by Richemont in 2000.