
This IWC Pilot’s Watch Has A Glow-In-The-Dark Dial
Taking legibility to a whole other level, the Swiss manufacture has decked the entire dial in a luminescent coating.
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While its rugged timepieces are now found under the suit cuff of many a soft-handed white-collar worker, actual pilots remain, ahem, instrumental in informing the basis of IWC’s tool watches. Its Professional Pilot’s Watches Program, developed as a result of the Schaffhausen manufacture’s partnership with the US Navy, has formed the basis for highly specialised watches designed for jet pilots.
Sitting within that program is the new Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces, which derives inspiration from a pilot’s watch IWC first designed for members of the California-based Strike Fighter Squadron 41, dubbed the ‘Black Aces’.
For the first time in a production IWC watch, the Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces has been bestowed with a fully luminous dial, achieved through the use of a Super-LumiNova-coated solid disc affixed to the soft-iron dial blank. The dial is then imprinted with black hour indices and numerals, as well as the ‘Black Aces’ patch, designed to resemble the ace of spades in a deck of cards. According to IWC, the luminescent dial should emit a greenish light for more than 23 hours.
The 41mm case is crafted from black zirconium oxide ceramic; a durable material with a hardness rating second only to that of diamonds. Its lightweight credentials and scratch-resistant nature make it the ideal case materials for daily driver (or flyer, as the case may be), while its matte black shade was selected to ensure pilots aren’t distracted by sunlight reflecting off their watch. A lightweight titanium caseback features an engraving of the ‘Black Aces’ twin-engine jet set against a backdrop of spades.
Powered by the in-house calibre 32100, a movement fitted with an anti-magnetic silicon escapement, the IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces boasts a weekend-friendly power reserve of 72 hours. The timepiece is presented on a black textile strap with a stainless steel pin buckle.
The Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces is priced at $10,600 and is available now.
$10,600; iwc.com
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