IWC's Watches And Wonders Novelties Are Built For Liftoff

When you think pilot’s watches, very few go beyond IWC Schaffhausen.

But this year, IWC came to Geneva with one foot firmly in its glorious past and the other towards an exciting future. Among its novelties were new Le Petit Prince Anniversary Edition Pilot’s Watches, new additions to its Ingenieur line, some very interesting performance material and a watch that is scheduled to go to space.

While the Little Prince collection, which also includes IWC’s first Portofino, has a more emotional connect to it, it was the Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive that captivated everyone. This next-generation tool watch has been engineered for the demands of human spaceflight and timekeeping in space. Inspired by astronauts wearing space suits with gloves, all functions of the watch can be controlled through an innovative, rotating bezel system. This eliminates the need for a crown.    

In an interview on the sidelines of Watches and Wonders, IWC’s chief design officer Christian Knoop explained why space design was the next logical step for the brand. “There is an interest in the cultural environment that is opening up for space,” says Knoop, who added that the Venturer Vertical Drive is all set to be in space in 2027. “It is scheduled to be on Haven 1 next year. That is the plan,” Knoop adds. “We are relying on our partners, but we are confident and the watch is ready for this.”

What was the thinking behind designing the Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive? How soon could we see the watch go to space?

IWC has an incredible history in pilot's watches. We created lots of industry icons and created a collection that is very important for us because it's also a manifestation of who we are in the world of watchmaking. The pilot's watches are about engineering and in purity, they are instrument watches that showcase the precision and level of quality we can produce.

As a future-oriented company, it's not enough to just look back on 90 years of history, but also to see where the future is. For us, space aviation is clearly the next level. 

There is a general interest in space design. This encouraged us to create a watch that is the first watch designed for human space flight.

We had nine watches that went up into space in the last five years that have proven that IWC watches can be qualified for space flight. We are now working with an American company called Vast that is dedicated to build the first commercial space station to partner with us. Not only as an official timekeeper but also to create the first watch that is really designed for use in space.

Would you say this is an exciting time to design watches inspired by human space flight? It's quite a trend, isn't it?

Yes. For us, it's not only about a functional watch but also a testament about being a future-oriented company. It's a watch that has not evolved from other collections like Pilots or Portofino but it's also translating who we are in the world of watchmaking: modern and a very forward-looking design that is different.

Let's come to the Le Petit anniversary edition -- the pilot's watches. How do these watches fit into IWC's philosophy of watchmaking?

We have been working with the Saint-Exupéry Foundation, the heirs of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the famous pilot and writer, since 20 years. The fact that he was a pilot and a poet led to this partnership, on Pilots watches initially.

The first versions we created were very much around the personality of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. In 2014, we created the first dedicated edition or the first two editions on the Little Prince, because this is his most important book. It's a very poetic book about the Little Prince traveling different planets and learning about humanity. We launched these two watches and they became an instant success.

This became much bigger than the Saint-Exupéry editions and resulted in lots of editions over the last years -- all bearing the signature blue dial. But we had automatic watches, calendars, chronographs, tourbillons that really paved the way of that Le Petit Prince edition. 

This year we celebrated 20 years of the partnership and created a capsule that spans from a small automatic 36 to a perpetual calendar. All showcasing the blue dials and also little depictions of the Prince on the back or on the rotor. This is a very exciting collection with different interpretations of that blue colour combined with steel, gold, white ceramic. A few of them also showcase the golden hands as a signature of this anniversary.

What would these watches bring to someone's collection?

The Le Petit Prince story is a very emotional story. It always took a special spot in people's hearts and this is also what I would expect the timepieces would do to a collection. You have lots of watches that are nice. But then if you have one that is really linked to such an emotional story, it will also take a special place in people's collection.

Ceratanium forms a crucial part of both the Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive and the PORTUGIESER CHRONOGRAPH. What makes this material so special and unique for prospective owners?

IWC has an interesting history in using performance materials. Since the 80s, we were among the first brands to use titanium. We were the first brand using colored ceramics back in the 80s. Both materials have been explored and mastered over the last decades. We introduced different titanium alloys: titanium graphite, titanium aluminide, recently Ceratanium. We have been experimenting with different ceramic derivatives in our movements and cases. Other than zirconium oxide, we have silicon nitride, boron carbide. We have introduced a ceramic matrix composite recently. 

The Cera Lume is another development in our core competence territory of ceramics. It's a material that was initially created by some apprentices at IWC five years ago. They came up with the idea to mix superluminova and zirconium oxide ceramics powder to make a case that would be luminous through and through. 

It took us another five years to make it a material that can be produced in series. It's a significant development that also resulted in a patent for IWC.

The Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Ceralume sees you innovate with yet another proprietary technology. How does the Ceralume technology elevate what is already one of IWC’s most recognisable watches?

We teased the Ceralume material on a chronograph two years ago. Lewis Hamilton also wore it during one of the races and it got great interest on social media. For the commercial launch, we decided to go with a very iconic product. 

The Big Pilot’s Perpetual Calendar is one of the most iconic and emblematic products for IWC. We decided for this prestigious model to wear the Ceralume technology for the first time and also made this into a limited edition of 250 pieces.

How would you describe the new novelties that IWC has shown in 2026?

In a nutshell, it shows the richness of the brand. It shows how strong IWC is in the core competence territories like calendars, performance materials. That we have iconic designs, like the Ingenieur, that keep evolving.

But that we also continue to push into the future with new ideas, partnerships like the one with VAST for the Venturer Vertical Drive.