New Release: IWC’s first Ceratanium watch case

When diving with air tanks began to gain popularity, IWC introduced the first Aquatimer in 1967. This diver’s watch, water-resistant up to 200 metres, had an internal rotating bezel for setting the dive time. To mark the 50th anniversary of Aquatimer diver’s watches, IWC Schaffhausen has released a special edition featuring the first Ceratanium ® case. This particular material is as light and unbreakable as titanium, but also as hard and scratch-resistant as ceramic.

The main reason behind combining titanium and ceramic was the fact that both materials have such excellent properties. Titanium is about a third lighter than steel, extremely rugged and also bio-compatible. Ceramic is non-wearing, extremely hard and scratch-resistant. This proprietary titanium alloy was developed over a 5 year long research process. All the case components are from this metal. The milling, turning, drilling and polishing are done before it goes into the oven. Once in the oven, the heat initiates a diffusion process in the titanium alloy and the surface of the material is transformed into ceramic.

 

 

The Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month Edition “50 Years Aquatimer” (Ref. IW379403) is limited to just 50 pieces. Its most striking feature is the matte-black Ceratanium ® case. The clasp, crown and push-buttons are also made from Ceratanium ®. The dial is black, and some components of the IWC-manufactured calibre 89802 have also been coloured black, such as the rotor of the selfwinding system. The technical features include a digital perpetual calendar and flyback chronograph. The calendar displays the date and month in large numerals in the style of a digital watch, automatically recognising different month lengths and leap years. The chronograph with flyback function displays stop times, combined in a totalizer at 12 o’clock.

Like all Aquatimer models, this watch, which is water-resistant up to 10 bar, features an external/internal rotating bezel for setting the dive time. The IWC SafeDive system ensures that the internal rotating bezel can only be adjusted when the external bezel is rotated in an anticlockwise direction. As a result, even if the external bezel is accidentally moved, zero hour – the time at which the diver can return to the surface without the need for decompression stops – cannot be exceeded.

 

 

The special-edition Aquatimer with a Ceratanium® case will be available in IWC boutiques from September 2017 at the price of CHF 50,000.

 

Technical Specifications:

Features:

• Mechanical movement
• Perpetual calendar
• Large double-digit displays for both the date and month
• Flyback chronograph
• Mechanical external/internal rotating bezel with IWC SafeDive system
• Luminescent elements on hands, dial and internal rotating bezel

 

Movement:

• IWC-manufactured calibre 89802
• Frequency: 28,800 bph / 4 Hz
• Jewels: 51
• Power reserve: 68 h
• Automatic

 

Case:

• Materials: Ceratanium® case, black dial, black and red hands, black rubber strap
• Glass: Sapphire, convex, anti-reflective coating on both sides
• Water-resistance: 10 bar
• Diameter: 49 mm
• Height: 19.5 mm