Credits: Article and images by Bhanu Chopra @ Revolution Watch Magazine. See the original article here - https://revolutionwatch.com/iwc-top-gun-pilots-watches-go-bold-with-colorful-ceramic/
Working with Pantone, the “IWC Jet Black” color was designed for this colored ceramic. A green textile strap adds a bit of texture and subdued color to the overall look and is easily changed with the integrated EasX-CHANGE system.
The IWC 82100 caliber features the Pellaton automatic winding system and central hacking seconds. With the screw-in crown, the Big Pilot’s Watch 43 TOP GUN attains a 100-meter water resistance. The movement is shielded by a soft-iron inner case for magnetic field protection.
Movement: Self-winding caliber 82100; 60-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes and central hacking seconds
Case: 43.8mm; ceramic with titanium crown and caseback; water resistant to 100m
Dial: Black; luminescent Arabic numerals and hour markers
Strap: Green textile; titanium folding clasp
Price: USD 10,300
IWC is currently the only watch brand officially licensed to work on watches for the entire US Navy and Marine Corps’ aviation units. Each member of the 247 active and 100 inactive squadrons have exclusive access to the line of squadron watches and receives an engraving of their name and call sign.
IWC has collaborated with various squadrons from the TOPGUN tactical school to the Blue Angels demonstration squad, and including the VFA-102 Diamondbacks, VFA-27 Royal Maces, VFA-211 Fighting Checkmates, VFA-115 Eagles, VFA-22 Fighting Redcocks and the US Marine Corps VMFA-242 Bats and VMFA-323 Death Rattlers.
TOPGUN is the common name for the legendary Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program in which elite military pilots are trained in advanced flying and tactical skills in order to return to their units as teachers. In 2007, IWC was invited to collaborate with the program to develop a timepiece capable of withstanding the extreme conditions of supersonic jets, such as the F/A-18E Super Hornet, for extended mission times. The watches are engineered with the most advanced technical materials, including titanium, ceramics and the ceramic- titanium composition material developed by IWC called Ceratanium.
The black-on-black style and classic double chronograph design created a sleek, technical looking timepiece with just a touch of red. The complications featured a small hacking seconds and split seconds hand for intermediate timing with the chronograph. A day and date display balanced the double chronograph and small seconds subdials.
In 2012, the TOP GUN collection was elevated to a line of its own with five new models. Today, the TOP GUN collection includes several models featuring complications from chronographs to perpetual calendars in a wide variety of colors and finishes.
In 2019, IWC announced that they had become an official licensee of the Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron. The Blue Angels got their start in 1946 when Admiral Chester W. Nimitz envisioned a group of pilots trained to exhibit the incredible prowess of naval pilots. The squadron is comprised of 141 members of the naval forces including the US Marines. They perform aerobatic maneuvers, both solo and in formation, with six F/A-18 Super Hornet jets. Every year, about 11 million people are treated to a demonstration from the team.
The Blue Angels collaborated with IWC to create a sporty flyback chronograph with a case of matte black zirconium oxide ceramic and a dial featuring the squadron’s livery of blue and yellow. Inspired by military observation watches, the special edition has a display of minutes on the outer ring in white and the hours on the inner ring in yellow. The back of the case features the engraved crest of the Blue Angels.
The caliber 89361 still features that unique soft-iron inner cage to protect the mechanicals from magnetic fields and the pressurization resistant glass to ensure that even the extreme conditions in the supersonic jets will not affect the precision and accuracy of the timepiece.
Credits: Article and images by Bhanu Chopra @ Revolution Watch Magazine. See the original article here - https://revolutionwatch.com/iwc-top-gun-pilots-watches-go-bold-with-colorful-ceramic/
