Innovating Eternity: A Dialogue with IWC’s Stefan Ihnen

Stefan Ihnen, Associate Director of Research & Development at IWC, explains to LUXUO the requirements for sustaining innovation in the watchmaking industry for over 20 years.

IWC Associate Director of Research & Development Stefan Ihnen

This issue has a unique opportunity: an in-depth conversation with Stefan Ihnen, the longstanding Associate Director of Research & Development at IWC. This issue of Legacy uniquely showcases some relatively new voices for our readers, which you may explore at your convenience. In conventional horology, we often revisit the same themes, resulting in a sense of redundancy. Engaging with individuals at the vanguard of watchmaking innovation alters that relationship. Regarding IWC, it is more probable to encounter individuals such as Christoph Grainger-Herr and Christiaan Knoop; we might have pursued that avenue as well, but upon seeing Ihnen’s name on the interview list, I was compelled to include him. What is the reason? The response is an alternative designation: Ronan Keating.

That is an excessive number of names to include at the introduction of a narrative centered on a single individual. The reference to a pop icon from a recent yet past era will cause some of you to hesitate. As this interview is published in print initially, you may have been inclined to discard the magazine or maybe hurl it across the room. Are you still present? Allow me to elucidate. Collectors of IWC of a certain generation may remember that Ronan Keating was previously associated with the company and continues to be a collector of IWC timepieces; although the official affiliation is somewhat ambiguous, the Irish singer can still be observed wearing IWC watches.

In 2007, a significant portion of the IWC management team traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the inauguration of the brand's flagship shop in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. During that event, I interviewed the then-CEO Georges Kern, while also paying attention to a young watchmaker and engineer accompanying the team. Indeed, I have been technically inclined from the first. Regardless, that individual was Ihnen, and we would not have the opportunity for a formal meeting until this year. After I entertained Ihnen briefly with some Keating references, we proceeded to address the matter at hand.

Portugieser Chronograph IW371624 in steel

As this is the year of the Eternal Calendar, we have previously discussed this matter extensively; therefore, our conversation commences, as it ought to, with Ihnen himself. An uncommon instance of an engineer and watchmaker formally educated in both disciplines, Ihnen progressed through the IWC apprenticeship program. He commenced his horological training in Germany, attaining the status of master watchmaker in 1997, thereby becoming an integral part of the significant transformation that swept through conventional watchmaking at the close of the 20th century and the dawn of the 21st.

For enthusiasts of IWC’s proprietary movements and the innovative materials employed by the company, Ihnen is the individual to meet, since he established the research and development division virtually from the ground up. His insights into production also disclose a pragmatic aspect of brand statement pieces like the previously mentioned Eternal Calendar. Remain until the conclusion for Ihnen's insights on that matter, along with a succinct overview of the entire calendar system.

Calibre 52616, dial-side; the 69355 chronograph calibre in the 2024 Portugieser collection

Let us begin with your comprehensive experience with IWC. What drives you to persist following such a lengthy career?

Initially, research and development consisted of a solitary, compact team. About four or five years post-induction, we divided this group into movements and cases, and I took charge of the movement development component. Substantial efforts were necessary to improve internal operations and capabilities during that time. I was engaged in the development and organization of the technical department, along with many specific movement efforts. Initially, we consisted of eight or nine workers in research and development; now, over two decades later, our number has approached 50. It was never tedious! I remain with IWC because of the continual appearance of new projects, innovative initiatives, professional improvements, and increased responsibility.

Calibre 52616, dial-side; the 69355 chronograph calibre in the 2024 Portugieser collection

What is your preferred aspect of your occupation?

I still have a strong affinity for movement development, but I possess somewhat less time than I did in my formative years when I was devoted to it. Although I am not deeply involved at present, as Technical Director, I may selectively engage with intriguing projects and concentrate my efforts accordingly. I am a member of the steering committees, which affords me some autonomy over my personal involvement, and I continue to engage in this capacity. Additionally, there is a significant emphasis on watchmaking techniques and the consideration of individuals. I enjoy collaborating with and cultivating my team. Two decades ago, a young apprentice worked beside me, and he is now a team leader collaborating directly with me, which is quite gratifying.

Your dual expertise as a watchmaker and engineer is uncommon, as most watchmakers lack engineering qualifications. How do you manage the disputes arising from various perspectives and between individuals in those distinct roles?

You are entirely correct concerning the rarity of this combination, though not necessarily on the division between watchmaking and engineering, along with the resultant disputes. In each developmental sector or firm, the introduction of new innovations into production inevitably raises certain uncertainties. Common inquiries arise regarding the efficacy and functionality of the new initiative. One must consistently surmount these obstacles and persuade individuals; this extends beyond merely watchmakers and engineers. The individuals engaged in component production achieve an optimal condition when they can manufacture parts effortlessly. The initial response to a new product, technique, or material is invariably, "Will it function?" Responses will include remarks such as, “I attempted it, and it required an additional thirty minutes compared to before.” You must surmount this; it is an inherent aspect of the company, to put it succinctly.

I experience no contradiction; I am both a watchmaker and an engineer. Both elements must coexist harmoniously for my role, therefore I am also seeking individuals who possess both watchmaking and engineering skills to join my department. Due to their rarity, we frequently seek young watchmakers with the potential and inclination to pursue engineering studies. This amalgamation of watchmaker and engineer is exceptional. It is beneficial for development, policy management, industrialization, and laboratory work. Having perspectives from both watchmaking and engineering is quite advantageous for me.

Portugieser Eternal Calendar

Regarding innovation and production, how do you determine the focus of your efforts? Materials and schedules? Chronographs?

Indeed, we must concentrate; it is unfeasible to accomplish everything. We possess a strategic document known as the innovation roadmap. You indicated constraints about IWC’s reputation and status as a manufacturer of durable timepieces, primarily related to engineering rather than fine art; yet, it ultimately pertains to remaining authentic to our identity, values, and areas of success. Our founder, Florentine Ariosto Jones, sought resources in Switzerland to manufacture watches on an industrial scale. We manufacture intricate timepieces, such as perpetual calendars and chronographs, utilizing fewer components to enhance their durability. This is not a constraint but rather a guideline.

Frankly, your inquiry pertains to additional factors, such as marketing and sales. These judgments are predicated on quantitative data (such as sales figures); nonetheless, I am referring to the strategic perspective of the watches we develop, namely the innovation roadmap. The materials utilized are titanium, ceramic, and Ceratanium. Regarding motions, it pertains to calendars and chronographs, as you have stated. IWC is among the few brands that have incorporated a digital display in their perpetual calendar for some years; we offer several moon phase mechanisms and displays; and we provide an array of calendars, including full calendars, annual calendars, perpetual calendars, and the newly introduced Eternal Calendar.

The Eternal Calendar is entirely derived on the innovations of Kurt Klaus in the 1980s about the perpetual calendar and the moon phase function. Historically, the moon phase was precise to a one-day discrepancy during a span of 122 years. Subsequently, we achieve a one-day divergence over a span of 577 years. Currently, with the Eternal Calendar, we experience a divergence of around one day over a span of 45 million years.

That extraordinary accomplishment places you significantly ahead of all others! It prompts me to contemplate the practicalities of the Eternal Calendar, a secular timekeeping system. Let us conclude on this matter: Will perpetual calendars require watchmaker intervention in 2100, prompting IWC to preemptively address competition?

The year 2100 may appear distant to us, however individuals born today will experience it. Perhaps our children as well (or their offspring). The Gregorian calendar may undergo alterations in 4,000 CE, and the specifics remain uncertain, even in discussions with physicists, as highlighted by astrophysicist and scientific communicator Professor Brian Cox at WWG this year. The Eternal Calendar is accurate until that year, which is the furthest achievable standard (even computers cannot surpass this), and perhaps this is excessively far for practical utility. However, 2100? Upon reflection, that is not particularly distant. By 2080, watchmakers may need to evaluate whether to market a perpetual calendar that remains perpetual for only 20 years or fewer. At that juncture, I believe we at IWC will be pleased to own a mechanism like to the Eternal Calendar, as eternal calendars will encounter their inaugural failure at that moment!

Perpetual calendars are designed to accommodate the structure of the Gregorian calendar. Although we explored this extensively in the last issue, here is a concise narrative necessary for elucidating this final point. Leap years have an additional day in February, occurring in every year that is divisible by four. However, this excessively rectifies the issue. The calendar incorporates additional mathematical divisions as a solution. Years divisible by four and 100 are not leap years; however, if a year is divisible by four, 100, and 400, it is classified as a leap year. This indicates that 2100 is not a leap year, elucidating the reason why 2000 was a leap year. Secular calendars, such as IWC’s Eternal Calendar, have resolved this issue. Ihnen's assertion on the year 4,000 CE pertains to a suggested alteration to the calendar that is yet to be ratified.