IWC Schaffhausen introduced its first timepiece technically designed for aviation in 1936. Sturdy and resistant to fluctuations in temperature from -40C to 40C, the debut model was simply named "Special Watch For Pilots".
The pioneer of pilot watches supplied various models to the militaries of different nations, and created Big Pilot, Mark 11, Spitfire, Top Gun and other horological high-flyers over the past 82 years.
The Swiss maison will launch a new fleet of technically-advanced watches next month at Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva. Four of the 2019 novelties, including Spitfire and Top Gun chronographs, were recently unveiled at Goodwood Aerodrome in southern England.
Between 1940 and 1946, the venue served as an extension to the British Royal Air Force's Tangmere airfield, frequented by fighter aircraft including the Spitfire, whose silhouette and characteristic elliptical wings render superior manoeuvrability. Like the agile propeller plane, the namesake watch combines form and function, with a design based on the Mark 11 navigation watch and its IWC-manufactured movements inspired by the unique engineering of the Spitfire. Since 2003, the watch series has included chrono-automatic, UTC dual-time, Mark XVI and midsize versions.
The new Pilot's Watch Chronograph Spitfire is powered by Calibre 69380, which is a member of the 69000 calibre family introduced two years ago as one of the most important developments in IWC-manufactured movements. The 69380 calibre is a high-precision chronograph movement with a column wheel design, while the pawl-winding system offers a power reserve of 46 hours.
Upon an olive-green dial, stopped hours and minutes are displayed on two subdials at 9 and 12 o'clock and the date along with day indicated at 3 o'clock. The 41mm model further appeals with a shining bronze case, whose colour will develop a patina and make each watch a unique piece.
The second unveiled novelty boasts a striking dark face with the case, dial and hands in black. Powered by self-winding 79230 calibre and providing a 44-hour power reserve, the 44mm Pilot's Watch Double Chronograph Top Gun Ceratanium features an integrated split-seconds hand mechanism for simultaneously measuring short periods of time.
In fact, this new model is IWC's first ever Pilot's Watch to be completely jet black with all case components, including push-buttons and pin buckles, in the innovative material. Named after the US Navy's Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor Program, Top Gun watches are specially designed with robust materials such as ceramic and titanium, which are extremely corrosion-resistant and can withstand humid, salty sea air. The hard and scratch-resistant ceramic is perfectly suited to daily use in a confined aircraft cockpit and can also withstand extreme G-forces.
IWC have taken this to the next level by combining the advantages of titanium and ceramic in the groundbreaking Ceratanium. It is as lightweight and unbreakable as titanium as well as hard and scratch-resistant as ceramic. Other properties include excellent skin compatibility, a high degree of corrosion-resistance and its matte black colour. This made it possible, without a coating, to deliver an all-black design of the Double Chronograph Pilot's Watch Top Gun Ceratanium. Conventional coating procedures such as DLC can flake off whereas the ceramic surface of Ceratanium adheres permanently to the material without separating, even if the watch is somehow knocked. The patented ceramised titanium was previously used for limited editions, and this is the first time IWC has applied this material for an unlimited watch.
However, the other two pre-SIHH 2019 models launched at Goodwood Aerodrome are limited editions. Big Pilot's Watch Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition Le Petit Prince is a masterpiece of haute horlogerie available in only 10 pieces whereas Pilot's Watch Timezoner Spitfire Edition The Longest Flight is limited to 250 pieces.
The latter demonstrates IWC's long-standing relationship with aviation, as the brand is supporting the "Silver Spitfire -- The Longest Flight" project, which sees pilots Steve Boultbee Brooks and Matt Jones endeavour to make history by completing the first round-the-world flight in the iconic aircraft in summer 2019.
