IWC Unveils The Navy

Jul 01, 2023

The IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces with its fully luminous white dial

IWC Schaffhausen on Monday unveiled the Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces, the latest timepiece inspired by its collaborations with U.S. Navy squadrons. The feature of this timepiece is the fully luminous white dial, which consists of a solid disc of Super-LumiNova. The dial emits a bright greenish light for night visibility.

The watch also features a black zirconium oxide ceramic case and is powered by the IWC-manufactured 32100 caliber in-house movement with a power reserve of 72 hours. It is available exclusively online at iwc.com.

The titanium caseback of the IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces with an engraving of the ... [+] “Black Aces” twin-engine jet against a backdrop of spades.

Within IWC’s Professional Pilot’s Watches Program, which emerged from its partnership with the U.S. Navy, the Swiss watch brand develops highly specialized watches for jet pilots. The Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces (Ref. IW326905) takes inspiration from a pilot’s watch that IWC engineered for members of Strike Fighter Squadron 41 (VFA-41), also known as the “Black Aces.” The squadron is based at Naval Air Station Lemoore in California. Originally formed in 1950 at NAS Oceana, VFA-41 is attached to Carrier Air Wing 9 and uses the radio callsign “Fast Eagle.”

The fully luminous white LumiCast dial was developed in collaboration with pilots from the “Black Aces.” LumiCast is a highly concentrated Swiss Super-LumiNova that can be produced in any possible three-dimensional shape and size. It 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 curing process to give the material a ceramic-like durability. The solid disc is then fixed onto the soft-iron dial blank. Then, the dial is imprinted with black indices and numerals and the “Black Aces” patch, resembling the ace of spades from a card deck. In dark chamber tests, IWC said the dial emitted a bright greenish light for more than 23 hours. The process of absorbing and releasing light energy can be repeated an infinite number of times without ever causing the material to age or diminishing its light storage capacity.

The dial of the Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces imprinted with the “Black Aces” patch

The 41mm case of the timepiece is made of black zirconium oxide ceramic, a material IWC pioneered in the 1980s. Ceramic ranks among the hardest substances on Earth. Its lightness, hardness and scratch resistance make the material ideal for everyday use in the restricted space of a jet cockpit. In addition, its stealthy matte-black color ensures pilots are not distracted by sunlight reflected from their watch. The caseback is made of lightweight and hard titanium and features an engraving of the Black Aces twin-engine jet against a backdrop of spades.

The watch is powered by the in-house 32100 caliber automatic movement. Combined with the soft-iron inner case, the movement’s anti-magnetic silicon escapement improves the watch’s resistance to magnetic fields. IWC’s efficient double pawl winding system builds up a power reserve of 72 hours in the mainspring. The watch is fitted with a black textile strap with a pin buckle in sand-blasted stainless steel.

The Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces is available exclusively online at IWC.com. In addition, the timepiece is eligible for registration under the My IWC care program and can benefit from a six-year extension to the standard two-year International limited warranty.