Flying colours
IWC’s Top Gun timepieces take the lead this year with a slew of coloured ceramics, as well as the brand’s proprietary Ceratanium composite.
SINCE 2022 is IWC’s year of the Top Gun, the brand has naturally unveiled several new models for this sub-collection of the Pilot’s Watch line. The novelties don’t just bear the same technical slant that the Top Gun series is known for, though. Instead, IWC has also made aesthetics a priority for these timepieces, and constructed them variously in Ceratanium and coloured ceramics for material benefits in both design and technical performance. It is a reflection of the Top Gun line’s continual evolution – and a testament to IWC’s mastery of advanced materials in watchmaking.
Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun Ceratanium
The Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 that was unveiled last year was a sleeker, more wearable alternative to the 43-millimetre Pilot’s Watch Chronograph. IWC has followed up on it this year by offering the watch in its proprietary Ceratanium, a composite material that melds elements of both metals and ceramics.
Ceratanium starts off as a specially formulated titanium alloy, from which parts are first machined and finished. These components are then baked in a kiln to induce a phase transformation in their outer layers, for a final result that blends titanium’s lightness and strength with ceramic’s scratch resistance.
The key advantage of Ceratanium lies in its firing process. Unlike ceramics, which shrink when sintered, Certanium maintains a consistent volume. This makes it possible to render even the smallest components accurately in the material; note how IWC has extended Ceratanium’s usage to the crown and pushers in this timepiece.
To complement Ceratanium’s dark grey colour, IWC has opted for a tone-on-tone scheme to create a stealthy, understated timing instrument. The final result is a fresh take on a familiar watch, with a technical achievement that is, quite literally, skin deep.
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Big Pilot’s Watch 43 Top Gun
Black ceramic has featured prominently in the Top Gun line since 2012. This year, it arrives in the Big Pilot’s Watch 43 Top Gun, for a minimalist classic that harks back to the prototypal three-hand pilot’s watch.
In the new timepiece, black zirconium oxide is used for the watch case to provide superlative scratch resistance, with a titanium crown and case back lending the finishing touches to the watch. A matching black dial completes the canvas from which white hands and indices appear to leap out, thus creating at-a-glance legibility, and what is arguably the purest iteration of the Pilot’s Watch in both form and spirit.
Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Top Gun Edition “Lake Tahoe” and “Woodland”
Two other additions to the Top Gun line this year mark the debut of new ceramic colours at IWC: “Woodland” green and “Lake Tahoe” white.
The first, the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Top Gun Edition “Woodland”, was inspired by the flight suits of naval aviators. To that end, IWC developed a green ceramic that mirrors the hue of these uniforms, and extended the same colour to the watch’s dial, with lighter markings for the hands and indices. Completing the package is the set of Ceratanium crown, pushers, and case back that add dark grey elements to the timepiece.
In lieu of its sibling’s tone-on-tone styling, the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Top Gun Edition “Lake Tahoe” offers a high-contrast alternative that stands out visually – not least because of its 44.5-millimetre case size. The watch achieves this using a bold white ceramic case, which frames a deep black dial with high contrast hands and markings for a striking presence on the wrist. What’s more, the polished crown and pushers on the watch lend a further touch of interest here by standing out from the matte surfaces. The overall effect is an arresting timepiece that presents a vision of the Pilot’s Watch as an expression of style – albeit one with ample technical content on the watchmaking front.
The Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Top Gun Editions “Lake Tahoe” and “Woodland” are not limited editions. Annual production, however, will be kept to just 1,000 pieces for each version.
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