IWC Unveils Timezoner
In 2016, IWC Schaffhausen presents a radical new concept to the world of
watchmaking: for the first time ever, the Pilot’s Watch Timezoner
Chronograph permits the user to set a new time zone using just the
bezel. The hour hand, 24-hour display and the date also move
automatically. No other watch manufacturer has ever succeeded in making a
world time watch that is so simple, practical and elegant.
The
Pilot’s Watch Timezoner Chronograph (Ref.
IW395001) is a watchmaking master stroke:
IWC Schaffhausen is the only watch manufacturer to offer a watch that enables the user to set another time zone, together with the date and 24-hour hand, in a single movement. All you need to do is push the bezel down, turn it to the desired time zone and release. It’s as simple as that. The movement is conveyed synchronously to the hour hand and a smaller 24-hour hand that always shows whether it is day or night in the selected time zone. The date display is also synchronized correctly, regardless of whether the watch is advanced or turned back, and whether the 24-hour hand passes midnight. The watch movement and the advance of the minute hand, however, are not affected, which has the advantage that the watch shows the correct time even after repeated functional tests.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size .. BIG FOTO
Press, rotate and release: setting the world time with a mechanical wristwatch could not be easier than with the city ring. And since only one time of day is shown, it is impossible to mix up the different zones. For example, if you wish to know whether you are calling your business associate in
Tokyo or
Mexico City during office hours or at night, you simply turn the city in question to the top of the dial and then back. The same thing applies to air travellers and pilots: no matter how often they change time zones, they can quickly show local time and then revert to home time.
SIMPLE OPERATION THANKS TO A ROTATING BEZEL
For the
Pilot’s Watch Timezoner Chronograph,
IWC’s engineers have combined and further developed a number of technologies. The city ring itself was adopted from the Worldtimer display: on the polished black rotating bezel are the names of 24 cities, from London via New York to Tokyo and Dubai, each representing one of the international time zones. Those countries with summer time are indicated on the rotating bezel by a small “S”. The inscription “UTC” below “London” shows the current Universal Time Coordinated.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size .. BIG FOTO
The sprung rotating bezel concept was first used for the
Porsche Design Ocean 2000 in the
1980s. It ensures that the bezel rotates only when pushed down and is thus protected against inadvertent rotation. If you wish to set the watch to a new time zone, simply press down the city ring – the bezel – with thumb and index finger, turn the desired time zone to “12 o’clock” and release.
It is important that pressure is exerted on two opposite sides. Only
then can the lock be released smoothly and the bezel turn in both
directions. When the ring is released, a spring ensures that it returns
to its original position. This mechanism is an extremely effective means
of ensuring that the time zone is not moved inadvertently. The detents
on the rotating bezel ensure that it locks into precisely the desired
position, or into the “S” necessary for showing summer time.
EXTERNAL/INTERNAL ROTATING BEZEL PROVIDED THE SOLUTION
A system like the external/internal rotating bezel, now part of the
IWC Aquatimer watch line, provided
IWC’s engineers with a means of connecting the bezel with the gear train inside the watch. Rotating the city ring advances or turns back the white hour hand in one-hour steps and shows the time in the desired time zone. At the same time, the black-and-red 24-hour hand on the inner 24-hour ring shows whether it is night or day.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size .. BIG FOTO
Finally, should you cross the International Date Line, the date also
advances or reverts by one day, depending on the direction in which the
bezel moves. Since the hour wheel is connected directly to the 24-hour
hand and the date advance, all the displays can only be moved at the
same time. In other words, turning the city ring immediately sets three
displays in motion. For connoisseurs, the world time watch has long been
one of the most useful functions on the
Pilot’s Watches. Now it is particularly easy to operate.
SUMMER TIME EASY TO SPOT
The
Pilot’s Watch Timezoner Chronograph also solves the problem
of summer time. It is often forgotten that not all time zones on the
planet recognize summer time. There are countries that do not make the
change. Some states in the southern hemisphere put their clocks back at
precisely the time those in the northern half of the globe are putting
theirs forward. If you wish to see what the time is in Rio with a
conventional time zone watch, it is almost certain to be wrong. For this
reason, the rotating bezel has a small “S” to indicate the names of
cities that recognize summer time, such as
London and
New York. IWC Schaffhausen has been awarded a patent for this particular display function.
ENGRAVING OF A JUNKERS JU 52
With its black city ring, dial and
Santoni calfskin strap, the
Pilot’s Watch Timezoner Chronograph retains the colour coding of the classic
Pilot’s Watch, the white displays providing a highly legible contrast. Thanks to the new
IWC-manufactured 89760 calibre, this model has an innovative display that provides the user with a fast, intuitive means of displaying stopped times between 1 minute and 12 hours.
Click on the mouse wheel to see the large size .. BIG FOTO
The hours and minutes recorded by the stopwatch can be read off on the totalizer at “12 o’clock” as easily as on any analogue timepiece. Stopped times up to 60 seconds are shown by the central stopwatch hand. The integrated flyback function allows wearers to return the running stopwatch hand to zero and to start another timing sequence immediately. Engraved into the back of the stainless-steel case, which is water-resistant to 6 bar, is a depiction of a
Junkers Ju 52, the aircraft which, in the
1930s, brought the world closer together. Back in those days, the aircraft was by far the most common civilian aircraft and was airborne in all continents. No wonder it has a place of honour on the
Pilot’s Watch Timezoner Chronograph.
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Technical Specifications
Model:
PILOT’s Watch Timezoner Chronograph
Ref:
IW395001
FEATURES
Mechanical chronograph movement
24-hour display
Date display
Stopwatch function with hours, minutes and seconds
Hour and minute counters combined in a totalizer at “12 o’clock”
Flyback function
Small hacking seconds
Glass secured against displacement by drops in air pressure
Special back engraving
MOVEMENT
IWC-manufactured calibre: 89760
Frequency: 28,800 A/h | 4 Hz
Jewels: 39
Power reserve: 68 h
Winding: Automatic
WATCH
Materials: Stainless-steel case, black dial
Glass: Sapphire, convex, antireflective coating on both sides
Water-resistant: 6 bar
Diameter: 45 mm
Height: 16.5 mm
STRAP
Black calfskin strap by
Santoni, stainless-steel folding clasp
* IWC Schaffhausen is not the owner of the Super-LumiNova® trademark.
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Press releases
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IWC Schaffhausen
Uwe Liebminger
Department Manager Public Relations
Mobile
+41 (0)79 957 72 52
E-mail uwe.liebminger@iwc.com
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