Whenever a topic veers towards pilot watches, chances are IWC Schaffhausen will be mentioned in the same breath. It is no surprise, given that IWC has dominated the segment for all the right reasons. Throughout IWC’s 155-year history, 87 years were dedicated to crafting professional instrument watches for pilots, some of which became watchmaking icons. The Navigator’s Wristwatch Mark 11, commissioned by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1948, is a prime example, while the Big Pilot Ref. IW5002 has been a collector’s darling for years.
Given IWC’s symbiotic relationship with pilots and aviation, the Swiss manufacture embarked on the Professional Pilot’s Watches Program licensed by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviation units in 2018 to work on a series of professional military watches. After debuting the IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Editions “Royal Maces”, “Tophatters”, and “Blue Angels®”, the IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces is the latest exponent from the Professional Pilot’s Watches Program developed in tandem with members of Strike Fighter Squadron 41 (VFA-41), better known as the “Black Aces”.
Paying attention to the conditions the Black Aces pilots work in, the IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces has been engineered accordingly to meet their requirements. Instead of stainless steel, the watch is encased in black zirconium oxide ceramic, which IWC has perfected after pioneering its developments in the 1980s. With a Vickers hardness rating second only to diamonds, the hardness and scratch resistance of the case are well suited within the confines of the restrictive jet cockpit. Beyond that, the matte-black case prevents unwanted reflections that might distract pilots, especially under perilous scenarios.
Within the case beats the IWC-manufactured 32100 calibre that provides 72 hours of imperious performance thanks to the efficiency of the double pawl winding system. An anti-magnetic silicon escapement, soft iron cage and dial around the calibre prevent magnetic interference from electromagnetic waves emitting from the jet’s radar system.
One of the most striking features of the IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces is the fully luminous white dial, a first for IWC Schaffhausen’s first Pilot’s watch with such execution. Under well-lit conditions, the dial appears stark white, but as it gets darker, it emits a glorious shade of green that addresses the pilot’s need for legibility and lowlight readability. While most luminance in watches glows for an average of 3 hours, IWC’s variant glows for more than 23 hours after undergoing stringent dark chamber tests. Instead of painting the dial with luminous material, IWC employed a complex multistep manufacturing process.
High-grade Super-LumiNova® pigments are first mixed with a binder and cast into a circular mould before being hardened in a specially developed curing process to give the material durability of ceramic. The disc is then affixed onto a soft-iron dial and finished with black hour indices, numerals, the signature triangular index at 12 o’clock and the Black Aces squadron patch. Flipping the watch over reveals an engraving of the Black Aces twin-engine jet against a backdrop of spades as a finishing touch for IWC’s collaboration with the Black Aces.
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