IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN
For over 80 years, IWC’s Pilot’s Watches have been bringing the magic of flight to all those who wear them, with their characteristic instrument design that dates back to iconic navigation watches like the Mark 11. In conjunction with the announcement of its partnership with Goodwood Aviation as the main sponsor of the upcoming “Silver Spitfire ‒ The Longest Flight” expedition, the first round-the-world flight in a Spitfire by the Boultbee Flight Academy at Goodwood’s historic aerodrome, IWC will be ushering in 2019 at the SIHH with an exciting fleet of Pilot’s Watches, including a new Spitfire line fitted with in-house calibres to celebrate the unique engineering of the British fighter aircraft, and a new Top Gun line featuring IWC’s first ever jet black Pilot’s Watch made of the manufacture’s exclusive Ceratanium.
PILOT’S WATCH SPITFIRE LINE
The Spitfire, designed by Reginald J. Mitchell, is one of the most sophisticated developments in the history of aviation. The iconic shape of the legendary British fighter aircraft is the result of a perfectly functional design; its elliptical wings not only make the propeller plane extraordinarily agile and easy to manoeuvre, they also give it its unique silhouette. Just like the Spitfire, the IWC watch collection of the same name also perfectly combines form and function, with a design inspired by its historic Mark 11 navigation watch.
A particular highlight of the new collection is the Pilot’s Watch Timezoner Spitfire Edition “The Longest Flight”. For the first time ever at IWC, it combines the patented Timezoner mechanism with an entirely automatic IWC-manufactured movement and is limited to just 250 watches. This special edition is dedicated to the “Silver Spitfire ‒ The Longest Flight” project. It has been specially developed for pilots Steve Boultbee Brooks and Matt Jones to coincide with their flight around the world in a Spitfire.
The colour scheme, with its stainless steel case, black dial and green textile strap, is reminiscent of the cockpit of a Spitfire. The watch can be set to a different time zone by means of a simple rotational movement of the bezel. The hour hand, the 24-hour display and the date rotate automatically at the same time. The 24-hour display has been designed as a rotating disc beneath the dial. This means that the dial moves closer to the front glass, making it easier to read. The newly developed 82760 IWC-manufactured calibre has a Pellaton winding with components made from wear-resistant ceramic and boasts a power reserve of 60 hours.
The backbone of the new Spitfire line is the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Spitfire. IWC is presenting its first Pilot’s Chronograph with a movement from the 69000 Calibre family, one of the manufacture’s most important in-house developments, and a reduced case diameter of just 41mm. The 69380 IWC-manufactured calibre is a robust, reliable and high-precision chronograph movement with a classic column wheel design. The stopped hours and minutes are displayed on the two subdials at “9 o’clock” and “12 o’clock”. It also features a date and day display. The pawl-winding system, which winds up on both sides, boasts a power reserve of 46 hours. The bronze case, the olive green dial and the brown calf leather strap give this chronograph a distinctively vintage character.
PILOT’S WATCH DOUBLE CHRONOGRAPH TOP GUN CERATANIUM
The Top Gun watches, which IWC has been producing since 2007, take their name from the Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor Program in the US Navy, which provides the best Navy pilots with flying and tactical training. Naval aviation requires extreme skill. When manoeuvring in tight curves, for example, both pilot and aircraft are subjected to maximum acceleration forces. As a result the watches are specially designed with robust materials, such as ceramic and titanium, to meet the specific requirements of elite jet pilots and to withstand extreme conditions and G Forces.
The new Top Gun line sees IWC make use of the innovative new material Ceratanium for the first time in a Pilot’s Watch, in the form of the Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph Top Gun Ceratanium, which also marks the company’s first ever Pilot’s Watch in completely jet black. Developed by IWC, Ceratanium combines the advantages of titanium and ceramic in a ground-breaking new composition. The patented material is as lightweight and unbreakable as titanium and at the same time as hard and scratch-resistant as ceramic. It is also characterised by its excellent skin compatibility that has enabled IWC to create its first completely black design without a coating.
The double chronograph has an integrated split-seconds hand mechanism for simultaneously measuring short periods of time. It is powered by the 79230 self-winding calibre that boasts a power reserve of 44 hours and fitted securely to a rubber strap with textile inlay.