IWC - Pilot’s Watch 41 Black Aces IW326905

IWC introduced the Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces, the brand's first pilot's watch to feature a fully luminous white dial. Price €7,750

IWC introduces the Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces (ref. IW326905), a 41 mm x 11.4 mm sporty timepiece that is the brand's first pilot's watch to feature a fully luminous white dial.

Housed in a black zirconium oxide ceramic case, the new model is inspired by its collaborations with U.S. Navy squadrons and, in particular, by a pilot’s watch that IWC engineered for members of Strike Fighter Squadron 41 (VFA-41), a squadron known as the “Black Aces” that is based at Naval Air Station Lemoore in California. 

Thanks to its lightness, hardness and scratch resistance, a ceramic case is ideal for extensive use in the restricted space of a jet cockpit. Moreover, its stealthy matte-black colour ensures that pilots are not distracted by sunlight reflected from their watch.

The fully luminous white dial is the result of a complex manufacturing process. In the first step, high-grade Super-LumiNova pigments are mixed with a binder, cast into a circular mold, and hardened in a specially developed curing process to give the material a ceramic-like durability. The resulting robust disc is affixed to the soft-iron dial blank. Subsequently, the dial is adorned with black indices, numerals, and the “Black Aces” patch, reminiscent of the ace of spades found in a deck of cards.

In dark chamber tests, the dial emitted a bright greenish light for more than 23 hours, taking legibility and night visibility to a whole new level.

Super-LumiNova is a high-tech ceramic compound that absorbs light energy from either sunlight or artificial sources, causing the electrons in the material to enter a higher energy state, where this energy is stored. Upon returning to their normal state, these electrons emit the absorbed energy as visible light, resulting in the material glowing in the dark. This process of absorbing and releasing light energy can be endlessly repeated without causing the material to age or diminishing its light storage capacity.

The case back is made of lightweight titanium and features an engraving of the “Black Aces” twin-engine jet against a backdrop of spades. 

The movement of choice is the IWC-manufactured 32100 calibre operating at a frequency of 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour) with a power reserve of 72 hours.

Combined with the soft-iron inner case, the movement’s anti-magnetic silicon escapement further improves the watch’s resistance to magnetic fields. Water resistance is guaranteed up top a pressure of 6 bar (approximately 60 metres / 200 feet).

Paired with a black textile strap with a pin buckle in sand-blasted stainless steel, the new IWC Pilot’s Watch 41 Black Aces ref. IW326905 is priced at Euro 7,750 / US$ 7,650 and will be available exclusively online through the brand's online shop. iwc.com