IWC - Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Lake Tahoe

IWC introduced the new Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Lake Tahoe IW503008 in white ceramic. The reatail price is €43,700

In 2022, IWC presented the “Colors of TOP GUN” collection comprising various Pilot’s Watches in striking new ceramic colors (you can read our review of the two “Lake Tahoe” and "Woodland" chronographs here).

The latest addition to the series is the Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Lake Tahoe, a prestigious complication housed in a pristine white ceramic case measuring 46.5 mm x 15.6 mm and offering water resistance to 60 metres / 200 feet. The crown and the caseback ring are made from stainless steel.

White ceramic is created in a complex manufacturing process in which zirconium oxide is mixed with other metallic oxides and sintered at high temperatures in an oven. Ceramic is extremely scratch-resistant and remarkably light, making it the perfect material for a Pilot’s Watch.

The specific white color, which IWC and Pantone specified as “IWC Lake Tahoe”, is inspired to a freshwater lake, and the winter landscape around it, located in western Nevada, not far from Naval Air Station Fallon, home to the US Navy’s TOPGUN school. 

Protected by a convex sapphire with antireflective coating on both sides, the pitch-black dial is completed by black hands which, like the hour markers, are coated with white Super-LumiNova glowing in blue in low light.

The Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Lake Tahoe features the perpetual calendar complication originally developed in the 1980s by Kurt Klaus and improved, in terms of mechanics and functionality, over the years.

Its mechanical program recognizes the different lengths of the months and leap years and will require no manual adjustment until 2100. The patented double moon phase display at 12 o'clock shows the moon as seen from the northern and southern hemispheres with outstanding precision. In fact, it will only deviate by one day after 577.5 years. 

The calendar module is comprised of 80 individual parts and driven via a single nightly switching impulse by the IWC-manufactured 52615 caliber.

This 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour) automatic movement builds up a power reserve of seven days, thanks to its Pellaton winding system and two barrels. The components exposed to high stresses and strains are made of non-wearing ceramic.

The finishes of the movement and its rotor, with an 18-carat gold medallion, can be appreciated through the sapphire glass caseback.

Matched to a white rubber strap with a stainless steel folding clasp, the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Lake Tahoe ref. IW503008 will be available as of July 2023 at a retail price of Euro 43,700 / US$ 43,430. iwc.com