IWC has poured love and attention into the Pilot’s watch collection over the last couple of years, and it’s paying off, with offerings that deliver something for everyone. One of our favourite new releases within the collection is the IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun Ceratanium, presenting a full-black timepiece that was born for the nighttime cockpit.
IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun Ceratanium: What Is It?
This year has been all about the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph, with an array of releases that span a colour wheel of muted naturalistic tones. IWC even engaged the colourful folks at Pantone to create a set of new shades that could be used exclusively in the pigments of the watchmaker’s new ceramics cases. It’s a slightly smaller, stealthily themed new addition to IWC’s lineup, which is likely to find a few fans in the IWC collecting community.
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Case
Instead of the pure ceramic of the other chronographs, this piece was created using IWC’s proprietary Ceratanium, which blends the best of the properties of titanium and ceramic. Lightweight and ultra scratch-resistant, the 41mm case has been executed in a stealthy shade of dark (almost black) grey, with the caseback made from a darkly tinted sapphire crystal. Despite the challenges of working with the material, IWC has also managed to manufacture the chronograph pushers and crown from Ceratanium.
Dial
The dial continues the dark-on-dark theme of the watch, with a matte black finish and large pilot’s watch style Arabic numerals in dark grey luminous material. While it’d likely be easy to read at night, the watch does present a potential challenge to legibility during the day.
Movement
Powering the timepiece is IWC’s 69385 chronograph movement, which features both automatic winding and a column-wheel actuation for the chronograph mechanism. The movement will also tell you the day and the date, offering 46 hours of power reserve.
Strap
The IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun Ceratanium arrives on a black textile strap, backed with rubber for everyday comfort.
Verdict & Price
While it’s not exactly breaking new ground, this line extension within the IWC catalogue is a really cool one, serving up a very minimalist interpretation of an iconic design code. Blacked out watches were a big trend a couple of years ago, and it isn’t difficult to understand the pull of a function forward timepiece that doesn’t scream for attention. This technical new tool watch from IWC arrives with an RRP of $18,800.
