IWC – Pilot’s Watch TOP GUN Ceratanium ALL-BLACK Edition

 

IWC Schaffhausen – PILOT’s Watch TOP GUN Ceratanium® Matte ALL-BLACK Edition 2021

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 IWC LAUNCHES PERFORMANCE-ORIENTED TOP GUN PILOT’S WATCHES IN CERATANIUM® IN A TACTICAL ALL-BLACK DESIGN

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Schaffhausen, October 25, 2021 - IWC Schaffhausen is adding two Ceratanium® models to its TOP GUN Pilot’s Watch range. Engineered in Schaffhausen, this innovative new material combines the structural integrity of titanium with a scratch resistance similar to that of ceramic and features a striking matte black color. 

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The Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Ceratanium is the first watch from IWC with a Ceratanium® bracelet, which is lighter than steel and very comfortable to wear. The Pilot’s Watch Timezoner TOP GUN Ceratanium is the first TOP GUN model with a Timezoner® complication, allowing the wearer to change between different time zones effortlessly. Both novelties are powered by IWC-manufactured movements from the 52000 and 82000 calibre families.

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Advanced performance materials such as ceramics, titanium and Ceratanium® are a signature feature of IWC’s TOP GUN pilot’s watches. They take their name from the legendary Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor Program, a rigorous course used by the US Navy to train its elite pilots in flying and tactical skills. TOP GUN watches are engineered to deliver ultimate performance and can withstand even the extreme strain pilots experience in the cockpit of a supersonic jet.

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After pioneering the use of ceramics and titanium for wristwatches during the 1980s, IWC’s material engineers have now succeeded in combining the unique strengths of these two in a single, ground-breaking material. Developed over five years, Ceratanium® combines the lightness and structural integrity of titanium with a hardness and scratch-resistance similar to ceramic. In addition, Ceratanium® is also skin-friendly and highly resistant to corrosion.

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 Christoph Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen

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    “Ceratanium® is unique not only because of its outstanding material properties. With its matte black color, it also enables us to manufacture watches in a completely jet-black design. After introducing several models with Ceratanium® cases, we are now going one step further and for the first time present a bracelet crafted from this innovative material,”

Christoph Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen

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The Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Ceratanium (Ref. IW503604) features a case, crown and, for the first time, a bracelet made of Ceratanium®. As this material is based on a titanium alloy, the bracelet is around 30 percent lighter than a steel bracelet and extremely comfortable to wear. The black dial with gray numerals enhances the jet-black design. This TOP GUN model is powered by the IWC-manufactured 52615 calibre, visible through the tinted sapphire glass case back. 

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The Pellaton winding system is fitted with components made of virtually wear-free ceramic and builds up a power reserve of seven days in two barrels. A single nightly switching impulse from the base movement drives the perpetual calendar. Its mechanical program automatically recognizes different month lengths and leap years and will require no correction until 2100.  

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Another IWC specialty is the specific moon phase display, which depicts the moon as it is seen from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. It is so precise that it will only deviate by one day after 577.5 years. The annual production of this extraordinary timepiece will be limited to 150 pieces.

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The Pilot’s Watch Timezoner TOP GUN Ceratanium (Ref. IW395505) is the first TOP GUN model with a Timezoner® complication. The watch can be set to a different time zone by simply pressing down and rotating the bezel. The hour hand, the 24-hour display and the date will move forwards or backwards in one-hour steps. This also works across the dateline and without losing a single second. The case is made of Ceratanium®, while the city ring is manufactured from ceramic. It contains the names of 24 cities, each one representing one of the international time zones. 

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The numerals are printed in gray on the dial, while the numbers 12, 3, 6 and 9 are coated with a luminescent material. The jet-black tactical design is complemented with a tinted sapphire glass case back and a black rubber strap with textile inlay.

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The IWC-manufactured 82760 calibre uses a Pellaton winding system reinforced with ceramic components to build up a power reserve of 60 hours in the mainspring. The annual production of the Pilot’s Watch Timezoner TOP GUN Ceratanium will be limited to 500 pieces.

MACHINED FROM BARS AND FIRED AT HIGH TEMPERATURES

Ceratanium® is arguably one of IWC’s most important material innovations in recent years. IWC first used this material in 2017 for the case of the Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month Edition “50 Years Aquatimer” (Ref. 379403). 

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In 2019, the Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph TOP GUN Ceratanium (Ref. IW371815) was the first all-black Pilot’s Watch. Ceratanium® is based on a special titanium alloy that is forged to IWC’s specifications. 

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The case components are machined from bars to minimal tolerances using computer-controlled turning and milling centers and are then elaborately finished by hand. Afterwards, the components are fired in a kiln at high temperatures. During this firing process, a phase transformation occurs. As a result, the surface of the material not only obtains properties similar to ceramics, such as hardness and scratchresistance, but also its striking matte black finish.

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The Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Ceratanium and the Pilot’s Watch Timezoner TOP GUN Ceratanium are available now through IWC boutiques, authorized retail partners or online at IWC.com. In addition, both timepieces are eligible for registration under the My IWC care program and thus benefit from a 6-year extension to the standard 2-year International Limited Warranty.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICITIES

Collection : BIG PILOT’s Watch

 Model   BIG PILOT’s Watch Perpetual Calendar® Edition TOP GUN Ceratanium®

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 Ref  IW503604

FEATURES

•  Mechanical movement 
•  Pellaton automatic winding system 
•  Power reserve display 
•  Perpetual Calendar with displays for the date, day, month, year in four digits and perpetual moon phase for both Northern and Southern Hemispheres 
•  Small hacking seconds 
•  Screw-in crown 
•  Glass secured against displacement caused by drops in air pressure 
•  See-through sapphire glass back
•  Limited to 150 pieces

MOVEMENT
IWC-manufactured Automatic calibre  52615
Côtes de Genève, perlage
Frequency:    28,800 A/h | 4 Hz
164 Components
Jewels:    54
Power reserve:   7 days (168 h)
Winding:    Automatic
DIAL
Brushed black dial, Sand-coloured black hands with luminescence
Functions
Hours, minutes, seconds, date. Power reserve display 
Perpetual Calendar
Day, month, year in four digits and perpetual moon phase for both Northern and Southern Hemispheres 
WATCH
Materials:   Ceratanium®
Diameter:    46.2 mm
Height:    15.40 mm
Crown:  Screw-locked
Glass:    Sapphire, arched edge, antireflective coating on both sides
Water-resistant: 6 bar
STRAP:
Sand-coloured Ceratanium® bracelet with folding clasp
Strap width 22 mm

– Limited Edition - Only 150 Pieces

 
PRICE - Excl. Sales Tax  CHF 48,000.00 ~

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICITIES

Collection : PILOT’s Watch

Model   PILOT’s Watch Timezoner® Edition TOP GUN Ceratanium®

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 Ref  IW395505
 

FEATURES

•     IWC-patented Timezoner® function
•     24-hour display for Worldtimer function
•     Timezoner ® function for setting another time zone using the rotating bezel
•     Date display
•     Glass secured against displacement by drop in air pressure
•     Sapphire glass, convex, antireflective coating on both sides
•     Pellaton automatic winding
•     Black rotor with 18-carat gold medallion
•     Central hacking seconds
•     Limited to 500 pieces
  

MOVEMENT
IWC manufacture calibre 82760
Frequency 28,800 vph/4 Hz

Automatic, self-winding
284 Components
Côtes de Genève, perlage

Jewels 22
Power reserve 60 h
WATCH
Materials: Ceratanium® case
Diameter: 46.0 mm
Height:  15.10 mm
Brushed with polished accents
Sapphire crystals front and caseback (Glass secured against displacement by drop in air pressure)
Screw-in crown
Rotating bezel with black ceramic insert, used to change time zone  
Glass: See-through sapphire glass back
Water-resistant: 6 bar (-60m)
DIAL
Brushed black dial, black hands
Applied stylized Arabic numerals and hands filled with luminescent material
STRAP
Black rubber strap with textile inlay
Strap width 22 mm

Black stainless steel pin buckle

Edition
Limited edition of 500 timepieces 

PRICE  - CHF 18,000 Excl. Sales Tax

 

Register now to become a member of My IWC and benefit from a 6-year extension to the standard 2-year International Limited Warranty.

Year: Available from 2021

 

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Press releases - 2021
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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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Parmigiani Fleurier – TORIC Hemispheres Retrograde Steel Blue

 

Parmigiani Fleurier – TORIC Hémisphères Rétrograde Steel Blue 2021

The Distinguished Traveler

A one-of-a-kind expression of a traveler's watch, the Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Hemispheres Retrograde Steel Blue is a statement of rarity and taste. The blue guilloché dial and unique complication defy time and shed the background noise of the world. Modern, practical and sophisticated, it speaks to those who understand what refinement means, and who expect more from a dual time zone watch.

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As Parmigiani Fleurier celebrates the 25th anniversary of its creation, a new interpretation of the brand's dual time zone watch comes to life. The Toric Hemispheres Retrograde Steel Blue features a 42.8 mm steel case, with the Toric's collection signature hand-knurled bezel and a deep blue guilloché dial. Its motif is called “pomme de pin”, or “pinecone”, a testament to Parmigiani Fleurier's attachment to the natural laws of beauty.

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The guilloché pattern has been etched into the metal by a rose-engine, which is a hand-operated machine dedicated to dial engraving. Its in-house caliber features an asymmetrical retrograde date and a second time zone with fully independent hours and minutes, making it the perfect elegant traveler's watch.

In the Details

The Toric Hemispheres Retrograde Steel Blue is the sum of its details. The various levels of the Toric's steel case create a gentle stepped slope along polished layers. The pinecone guilloché radiates along complex lines, captures the light and highlights the deep blue dial shade. The new, thinly openworked hour and minute hands accentuate their javelin shape.

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The slight difference in size between the crowns. The grain d'orge guilloché on the 22ct solid gold rotor. The exquisite finishings, beveling and graining on the PF317 movement. This timepiece is a testament to the ingenuity, elegance and sense of contemporary watchmaking of Parmigiani Fleurier.

Inside Parmigiani

True to the fundamentals of design composed by founder Michel Parmigiani and the inspiration he draws from the Golden Ratio, the Toric collection is rooted in the classical canons of beauty as defined by classical Greek culture. The knurling on its bezel, applied by cold-working steel into a grooved pattern, stems from the flanks of Doric columns. The outline of its lugs is based on the ratios provided by the Fibonacci sequence, which drives the growth and shape of living creatures. The guilloché patterns on the dial and rotor originate in Parmigiani Fleurier's core imagery, based on the observation of nature.

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The dial's layout follows the fundamental laws of symmetry, up to a point. Upon closer examination, it is organized along slightly off-centered lines. Its crowns, its movement, its date, and the size of its subdials all rely on a non-classical blueprint. And so does the way it accomplishes its secondary function: the display of a second time zone.

In the Shapes

The size, angles and position of its crowns give it away: the Toric Hemispheres Retrograde Steel Blue rests on an unconventional positioning of the movement. It is comprised of a base movement, which keeps and tells time with central hands, and provides power to a complication module. The latter is larger and encloses the base movement in an off-centered position.

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This explains the idiosyncratic angle of the main, larger crown, located at 3:30. The second, slightly smaller crown at 2 o'clock, drives the second time zone module, and is also placed at an unusual angle. The Toric Hemispheres Retrograde Steel Blue case is indeed an exercise in asymmetry. It may seem round from above, but its flanks are steeped, narrower near the arm and wider near the bezel. This makes the 42.8 mm polished steel case a better, more comfortable fit on the wrist.

At Heart

The self-winding Caliber PF317 features two understated yet highly sophisticated complications. One is its retrograde date display. Instead of accomplishing one complete circle after another, it travels from 1 to 31 along a 240 degrees arc, then leaps backwards to restart its course.  

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This jump is instantaneous and reflects the level of accomplished watchmaking that went into developing this function. The other rare feature of Caliber PF317 is the specifics of its second time zone.

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Most GMT timepieces have two different hour hands and one single minute hand. Some go as far as displaying distant hours and minutes in a separate subdial for better readability but fail to give the minute hand real independence. The Toric Hemispheres Retrograde features hour and minute hands located in a subdial at 12 o'clock, which are entirely autonomous from the central, main time display. 

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This allows the accurate display of time zones such as Iran (UTC + 3:30), the UTC + 8:45 and UTC + 10:30 areas of Australia, but mostly that of India and its 1.3 billion inhabitants, all of which live on the UTC + 5:30 time zone. Because contemporary elegance is also about inclusion, and Parmigiani Fleurier watchmaking is about being thorough.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Collection: TORIC 

Model: Hémisphère Rétrograde Steel

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Reference: PFC901-1020001-300182

MOVEMENT   
Calibre PF317
Winding: Self-winding
Power reserve: 50 hours
Frequency: 4 Hz – 28,800 Vib/h
Dimensions: 15 ¾''' - Ø 35.6 mm
Thickness: 5.45 mm
Components: 316
Jewels: 28
Barrel(s): 2 series-coupled barrels
Decoration: "Côtes de Genève" decoration, bevelled bridges

FUNCTIONS

• Hours, Minutes
• Small seconds
• Retrograde date
• Day/night
• Second time zone

CASE
Shape: Round, in 3 sections
Material: Polished stainless steel 

Dimensions: Ø 42.8 mm 

Thickness: 11.9 mm
Finish: Polished
Water resistance: 30 m
Case-back: Sapphire
Crystal: Anti-reflective sapphire
Crown: Ø 5.5 mm & Ø 6 mm
Engraving on case-back: serial number & “HEMISPHERES RETROGRADE”
DIAL
Color: Blue

Finishing: Pomme de Pin guilloché
Indices: Hand-applied rhodium-plated appliqués, 18ct gold counter appliqué at 12 o’clock
Hands: Javelin-shaped with luminescent coating
STRAP
Brand: Hermès
Material: Indigo Blue alligator strap
Colour: Black
BUCKLE
Type: Folding buckle


Price RSP: 20,000 CHF

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Press release - 2021
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Contact

Tel-  +41 32 862 66 30

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blog.parmigiani.ch

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