I like
PVD watches! There I've said it...
I like the fact that they cool like they have come from another planet, they
say, "I have made a choice" to be different. Woman don't generally
like them but for men the relate to their technical engineering side, even if
they didn't know they had one. They look like they are purposeful, designed to
be 'used' and worked hard, they have an arduous role, originally the coating
was designed for machine tools to make them last longer, drill bits, chisels
etc, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
Sorry nodded off there, ahem!
Anyway that coating which is universally known as PVD (physical vapor disposition
ish something) has actually been many things, black chrome, I like
anodized finishes, a particularly tough
paint electrically charged which bonds to steel, but the best and coolest of all in my
opinion is not coating a on steel (or base metal) case with anything but actually making the case
out of burned and powdered ceramic! Zirconium Oxide
And there is only one company that does that and its IWC!
They have produced a couple of models from this stuff, a cool version of
their Standard Flieger Chronograph and strangely the fluffy throw-back to the
18th century the Da Vinci (also in white, yuk!) Both watches below.
The Da Vinci is not a looker in my book but it does have a perpetual calender
set for the next 500 years which is pretty cool!
IWC Flieger Ceramic one of 1000 sold in the early - mid 90's
cool but small 40 mm the new one is 42 mm
All very
interesting but what is this article about?
Well this article is about this absolutely perfect watch, a gorgeous bit of
design and styling, less is more, minimalist all of that stuff that gets
bandied about when usually referring to products that have only half the
'stuff' that this watch has....... behold the latest offering.
IWC 378601 Double Chronograph - also known as the Doppel Split
Second Chronograph
This from the IWC site is the bumf and the specs https://www.iwc.com/
In 1986, IWC
became the first watch manufacturer in the world to produce a watch in a
high-tech ceramic case made of zirconium oxide. This superb material is several
times harder, more scratch-resistant and more expensive than stainless steel
and is painstakingly milled from a single blank to ensure maximum breaking
strength. The ceramic case offers perfect all-round protection for the new
Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph, which is limited to 1000 examples.
It
features a number of discreet highlights: the case, dial and soft strap are
matt black, the crown and buttons are made of titanium, the numerals, indices
and hands are luminescent white. Only the small permanent seconds hand is
finished in eye-catching red, to ensure that it can be read off at a glance.
The vertical three-day display, reminiscent of the altimeter in an aircraft
cockpit, gives the dial its unmistakable design. A powerhouse with an
impressive case diameter of 44 mm, it is driven by a 79230 calibre automatic
chronograph movement with the tried-and-tested split-seconds mechanism. The
button at
10 o’clock enables the wearer to record intermediate times.
Limited edition of 1000 watches
- Mechanical chronograph movement
- Self-winding
- Small seconds with stop function
- Day and date indicator
- Split-seconds hand for intermediate timing
- Screw-in crown
- Soft-iron inner case for protection against magnetic
fields
- Sapphire glass, antireflective on both sides and secured
against displacement by drop in air pressure
- Water-resistant to 60 m
And the cost? Retail last year if you ordered in 2005 was a measly
£6,000 now they are all sold and are on offer for up to £9,000 on the open market.
Bummer eh! Well maybe not!
IWC in their wisdom are taking the watch in to production with only a few minor
tweaks, by making it larger 44 mm, adding a red detail to the hands so at noon when they come together they make a logo, oh and by having a few inscriptions, one on the
side of the case and one in the centre of the case back.
They got together with the the US Navy, Specifically the Naval Aviation base at
Fallon, Nevada which runs a course called, and wait for this........
US Navy strike Fighter Tactics
Instructor Course
Yes That's right!
This really cool watch is going to have what is known as the
Top Gun treatment!
And it will only cost you £7,000!
The sad thing is, and this is really sad, I think I would really like one!
What can I say, it's a sickness.
What do you think of 'black' watches ?
Regards
Alistair
Note: Some of the pics used here are from a TZ article by Jack Freedman and the
90's Flieger shot is from what I think is a defunct website, the rest are from
IWC and various media sources including QP magazine who were the inspiration for this piece they are here at http://www.qpmagazine.com/