2019
IWC BUILDS UP
ITS PILOT’S
COLLECTION
BY MICHAEL THOMPSON
IWC FOCUSES ON NEW MATERIALS AND NOVEL FUNCTIONALITY within its
pilot watch collections as its previews new watches ahead of SIHH 2019. The
Schaffhausen-based watchmaker in 2019 will add a new Spitfire collection, a
new Top Gun line and a particularly complex Le Petit Prince special edition.
SPITFIRE
To continue its celebration of this British fighter aircraft, IWC’s new Pilot’s
Watch Timezoner Spitfire Edition “The Longest Flight” (ref. IW395501, $12,400)
combines for the first time IWC’s Timezoner mechanism with an automatic
IWC-manufactured Caliber IWC 82760. The Timezoner is IWC’s particularly
user-friendly method of adjusting the watch to quickly see the time in any
time zone.
Limited to 250 watches, the 46mm special edition is dedicated to the ‘Silver
Spitfire –The Longest Flight project’ in which featuring pilots Steve Boultbee
Brooks and Matt Jones fly around the world in a Spitfire. The black dial and
green textile strap of the watch recall the cockpit of a Spitfire.
A second new Spitfire watch, the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Spitfire (ref.
IW387902, $6,250) represents IWC’s first use of the small-sized Caliber 69000
family (introduced in 2016) in the IWC Pilot watch collection. This caliber
ensures that the watch itself measures a comfortable 41mm in diameter, a size
that IWC says will make it a bedrock piece within the collection. The new watch
will feature Caliber 69380, a high-precision chronograph movement with a
classic column wheel design.
TOP GUN
IWC creates a Top Gun collection with Ceratanium cases. The Pilot’s Watch
Double Chronograph Top Gun Ceratanium (ref. IW371815, $15,000)) is also
IWC’s first truly all-jet-black pilot watch.
Developed by IWC, Ceratanium combines the advantages of titanium and
ceramic to gain the best of both materials. The case, as a result, is said to
be as lightweight and unbreakable as titanium and at the same time as hard
and scratch-resistant as ceramic. IWC also says Ceratanium is offers wearers
excellent skin compatibility and a high degree of corrosion-resistance.
Using the matte black material on all watch components such as push
buttons and pin buckles has enabled IWC to create this first completely black
design, made without a black PVD or other type of coating.
The double chronograph Caliber 79230 inside the case has an integrated
split seconds and is self winding. The watch, with its black dial and black hands,
sits on a rubber strap and textile inlay.
LE PETIT PRICE
Not only is this IWC’s first Pilot’s Watch to feature a constant-force tourbillon,
but the Big Pilot’s Watch Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition “Le Petit Prince”
(ref. IW590303, $235,000) is also IWC’s first to be made with a case and
crown of hard red gold. This limited edition of ten watches is made with a gold
modified to be significantly harder and five to ten times more wear-resistant
than conventional red gold, according to IWC.
The IWC manual-wind Caliber 94895 inside the watch combines a super-
precise constant-force tourbillon with a perpetual moon phase display that
is also extra accurate. IWC notes that its moon phase will take 577.5 years to
require a one-day adjustment. The Prince himself can be seen standing on the
moon on the dial. In addition, IWC has endowed the 46.2mm watch with two
barrels, which means it will store enough power for ninety-six hours (which can
be monitored by the red-tipped hand display on the dial). Note that all prices
listed above are not final and subject to change.
104 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | WINTER 2019
IWC Pilot's Watch
Chronograph Spitfire
IWC Pilot’s Watch
Double Chronograph
Top Gun Ceratanium