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Blaž Abe
IWC Schaffhausen

IWC Bets on the Pilot Top Gun Collection

Blaž Abe
IWC Schaffhausen
IWC Schaffhausen has never pretended to be anything else but a luxury watchmaking house with aviation written in the very core of its identity. IWC persists with the principle that form follows function, meaning that it creates a journey through the engineering perfection of timepieces for its clients.

This is confirmed with the use of innovative ceramic in the Pilot Top Gun Collection.

New Material and Subtle Black


IWC Schaffhausen presents the pilot’s chronograph 41 Top Gun Ceratanium. The most attention is dedicated to the use of an innovative material Ceratanium, which is presented for the first time in a watch with a 41-millimetre case. This special material prides itself on the lightness of titanium and resistance to scratches offered by ceramics.

The advantages of this material are also reflected in the colour of the case which, due to the unique production process, develops dark and metallic hues on the surface. The black dial with a calm white colour on the print and luminescence forms a harmonious entity of subtle design. The calibre 69385 house movement can be seen through the sapphire crystal on the back. The strap is made of black rubber with a textile inlay.


Big Pilot Top Gun in a 43-millimetre Case for the First Time


For the first time, the IWC Big Pilot 43 Top Gun is available in a 43-millimetre case. Naturally, in the black ceramic that has been a synonym of the Top Gun Collection for a decade since it was first presented to the public.

It runs on the calibre 82100 house movement with the Pellaton winding system, which is practically impossible to wear out due to components made from ceramic.

The elite American military aviation school Top Gun was the inspiration for the white ceramic of the Top Gun Edition ‘Lake Tahoe’ model and the olive green ceramic of the Top Gun Edition ‘Woodland’ model.

White and Olive Ceramics


Top Gun is a popular expression for the elite American military aviation school. Pilots there often fly over Lake Tahoe in the west of the USA, where IWC found inspiration for the Top Gun Edition ‘Lake Tahoe’ model. The case is made from white ceramic which represents an interesting contrast to the black dial. The second new model from this collection bears the name Top Gun Edition ‘Woodland’, which it acquired from the colours of the pilots’ military uniforms. The ceramic case is in olive green and so is the dial.

IWC is considered the pioneer in the field of ceramic use. To produce new colours requires quite a lot of engineering knowledge and, above all, experience. The dial design of both models reaches back to the 1980s and 1990s, when in collaboration with Porsche Design the brand presented watches made from titanium. Both ceramic cases of these timepieces are embedded with the house movement marked 69380. Both are equipped with a rubber strap of a matching white or olive green colour.