IWC | Geneva Salon: A Comprehensive Report!
IWC | International Watch Company
Premium Pilot's Watches Take Off, Led by Models with Perpetual Calendars!
While maintaining its characteristically German, robust and unadorned style, IWC consistently evolves its products year after year by incorporating the latest technologies and materials. This year, the focus of this evolution is the Pilot's Watch collection, arguably the most masculine in its lineup. Models featuring in-house complex movements have also emerged, appealing to watch enthusiasts.
Text & Event Photographs by SHIBUYA Yasuhito
Founded in 1868 in Schaffhausen, a city with strong German cultural influences, IWC (International Watch Company) has maintained a simple, robust style and a unique philosophy distinct from other Swiss watchmakers. It is also renowned for its distinctive advertising campaigns that emphasize its identity as "a man's watch."
2012 proved to be a pivotal year for this "man's watch" concept. The Pilot's Watch collection, with its illustrious history dating back to the 1930s, was reorganized into three lines – "TOP GUN," "Classic," and "Spitfire" – and completely revamped with six entirely new models.
Among these are models featuring a perpetual calendar complication within a Pilot's Watch, and others that further incorporate a "Digital Date/Month" display for large, prominent date and month readouts. Additionally, the Double-Chronograph(Split-Seconds Chronograph) and UTC (World Timer) models have also made a "comeback."
Furthermore, the "TOP GUN" line now includes a series named "Miramar." Its most striking feature is a color scheme that departs from the traditional black and white pilot watches. The metallic gray ceramic case, matte gray dial, and khaki green fabric strap create a novel "military" color palette, popular in fashion circles. The design, with its independent hour circle and chapter ring for enhanced legibility, is also refreshingly new.
This is a collection that every man would want to have in his lineup.
Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar "TOP GUN"
Equipped with an in-house perpetual calendar movement
This high-end model in the "TOP GUN" collection is powered by the "Caliber 51614," a self-winding, seven-day power reserve movement with a perpetual calendar that requires no correction until 2100 and remains accurate until the end of 2299. Its unique moon phase display, showing the Northern and Southern hemispheres independently, powerfully asserts its special status. Watch aficionados will recognize this mechanism from the "Portugieser" collection, which has its origins in high-precision marine chronometers. Challenging the convention that "Pilot's Watch equals Chronograph," we must applaud the audacious playfulness of incorporating such a luxurious complication as the perpetual calendar. While its direction is 180 degrees different, like the "Big Pilot's Watch" in the same line, this is a special Pilot's Watch made possible by IWC.
Self-winding, 48mm ceramic case, black soft strap. ¥3,496,500 (estimated retail price). Scheduled for release in May.
Pilot's Watch Chronograph "TOP GUN Miramar"
A contemporary military taste for the discerning adult
The traditional color scheme for Pilot's Watches has always been a "matte black dial with white indices and hands," mirroring aircraft cockpits. However, IWC has broken this convention with the "Miramar" series within the "TOP GUN" line, introducing a novel gray-based color scheme that complements the latest military fashion trends. This model features a chronograph with a flyback function. Its less aggressive aesthetic makes it a perfect accent for casual styling. The name "Miramar" originates from the former U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School located in Miramar, California, which trained elite fighter pilots until 1996 – the very setting of the movie "Top Gun."
Self-winding, 46mm ceramic case, khaki green fabric strap. ¥1,149,750. Scheduled for release in mid-April.
Pilot's Watch World Timer
A simple yet practical hidden gem of the new collection
This model, equipped with a world time function, is perfect for global travelers and international business professionals. In addition to displaying the current time with the hour, minute, and second hands, it allows for easy reading of current times worldwide, including AM/PM, through a combination of a rotating 24-hour ring integrated into the dial's periphery and an outer ring marked with city names. It serves as the successor to the "Pilot's Watch UTC" introduced in 1998. This is recommended for those seeking a chic and understated world timer.
Self-winding, stainless steel case, alligator strap. ¥876,750. Scheduled for release in mid-April.
Spitfire Perpetual Calendar Digital Date/Month
An elegant and premium Pilot's Chronograph
This premium model, featuring the most complex mechanism in the new collection, is powered by the in-house "Caliber 89800" movement, which includes a flyback chronograph, a perpetual calendar, and a digital display for the month and date in two digits. A standout feature of this model is the clear, traditional display of the chronograph's accumulated time in an subdials at the 12 o'clock position, mirroring the main time display. This is currently the most premium and elegant Pilot's Watch available.
Self-winding, red gold case, alligator strap. ¥5,061,000 (estimated retail price). Scheduled for release in December.
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