I had the opportunity to try for a few days the two new TOP GUN colored ceramic chronographs from the Pilot’s Watches family, which IWC Schaffhausen presented in Geneva at the Watches and Wonders Show. They are the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph TOP GUN Edition “Lake Tahoe”, with white ceramic case and black dial and the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph TOP GUN Edition “Woodland” with ceramic case and dark green dial with buttons, crown and caseback in black Ceratanium®. opaque. The two watches are powered by the fake IWC Manufacture movement caliber 69380 and annual production will be limited to just 1000 pieces for each model – so I was doubly lucky to be able to try them! The TOP GUN line was born in fake iwc fifteen years ago with a double chronograph with a black zirconium oxide ceramic case and a titanium case back: advanced materials have been the hallmark of this watch line ever since. Let’s take a closer look at these two new chronographs. Let’s start with the first one, Lake Tahoe, to understand what the name is due to. On the border between California and Nevada lies Lake Tahoe, in a mountainous area where pilots of the legendary US Navy TOP GUN school often fly over. And it is the winter landscape that surrounds the lake and the white uniforms of the US Navy that inspired the design of this watch. The chronograph has an important case of 44.5 millimeters, a dial of a beautiful intense black as are the hands, coated with luminescent material. IWC and Pantone have specifically defined the color of the ceramic as “IWC Lake Tahoe”. Buttons and crown are made of stainless steel while the back is made of titanium. The matching strap is in white rubber: a very soft strap that makes the watch comfortable even on smaller wrists (like mine). Despite its size, the watch is still not particularly heavy: thanks both to the rubber strap and to the material (ceramic and titanium are champions in terms of lightness, as well as resistance). The watch is undoubtedly flashy, but going towards the summer it certainly has its own reason. It is a chronograph that stands out, and how! In fact, in the days I had it on my wrist it did not go unnoticed replica watches.
The color of the other chronograph I tried, the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph TOP GUN Edition “Woodland”, is instead inspired by the flight suits of navy aviators: “Woodland Green” is used for the ceramic case and dial, while numbers and hour markers are printed in a lighter shade. Buttons and caseback are in matt black Ceratanium®. This material, developed by IWC, combines the lightness of titanium with a hardness and scratch resistance comparable to that of ceramic. The watch is completed with a matching green rubber strap with fabric insert. I must say that I found this model more comfortable, also with a 44.5 mm case. Better, some days I just forgot I have it on my wrist!
Both watches are powered by the IWC-manufactured 69380 caliber, a robust and reliable column-wheel design chronograph movement with approximately 56 hours of power reserve. Both watches feature a soft iron inner case that protects the movement from the effects of magnetic fields. The front windows are specially fixed to withstand sudden drops in pressure. Both watches are water resistant to approximately 60 meters and feature the iconic TOP GUN logo engraved on the caseback.
The production effort of IWC with these two chronographs should not be underestimated: an important problem, in fact, was represented by the adaptation of the new white and green colors of the ceramic to the many other components made of different materials – each with unique characteristics and a production process specific – such as the dial, hands, rubber straps and fabric inserts and even the luminescent coating. The two watches I tried are available at IWC boutiques, authorized distributors and online at IWC.com as well. last but not least, they can be registered under the My IWC service program and thus benefit from a 6-year extension of the standard 2-year Limited International Warranty.
