The Royal Oak might be the first luxury replica watches Gérald Genta might have penned, but it was by no means the only one. In 1976, the maestro also designed the UK high quality fake IWC Schaffhausen Ingenieur SL ‘Jumbo’, a stylish take on the iconic engineer’s watch that IWC has revived in the form of the new Ingenieur Automatic 40.
The Genta family resemblance is obvious: exposed screws, an integrated bracelet, a grid-textured dial… You get the picture. The new cheap copy IWC Ingenieur also features the same movement as the Baume above, meaning it’s got a hefty 5-day power reserve and 100m of water resistance, giving it a clear edge over the Royal Oak.
Available in steel or titanium, the new best fake IWC – with its Genta DNA, tasteful design and exceptional bracelet (something not a lot of people talk about is how relatively uncomfortable the Royal Oak’s bracelet is) – is a more than credible alternative to the Royal Oak.