IWC Schaffhausen Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month Edition “50 Years Aquatimer” (REF. IW379403)

Posted on by

To mark the 50th anniversary of Aquatimer diver’s watches, IWC Schaffhausen has released a special edition with the first Ceratanium® case.

When diving with oxygen 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. IWC is now celebrating the 50th anniversary of the same watch family with the first watch case made of Ceratanium®

The IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month Edition “50 Years Aquatimer” (Ref. IW379403) is limited to just 50 pieces. Its most striking feature is the Ceratanium® case.

The material experts at IWC have been working on the development of this particular composite based on a titanium alloy for more than five years. The special manufacturing process gives the metal a black, ceramic-like surface. As a result, Ceratanium® is as light and unbreakable as titanium, but also as hard and scratch-resistant as ceramic.

IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month Edition “50 Years Aquatimer” (Ref. IW379403)

The material also scores well for its high skin tolerance and corrosion-resistance. The dial is black, and some components of the IWC-manufactured calibre 89802 have also been coloured black, such as the rotor of the self-winding system.

The technical features include a digital perpetual calendar. This 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”.

IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month Edition “50 Years Aquatimer” (Ref. IW379403)

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. Thanks to the quick-change system, the black rubber strap can simply be replaced with another strap.

IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month Edition “50 Years Aquatimer” (Ref. IW379403)

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 details

Model: IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month Edition “50 Years Aquatimer”, Ref. IW379403

Functions
Perpetual calendar
Large double-digit displays for both the date and month
Stopwatch function with hours, minutes and seconds
Hour and minute counters combined in a totalizer at 12 o’clock
Flyback function
Small hacking seconds

Movement
IWC-manufactured calibre 89802 Mechanical chronograph movement
Frequency: 28,800 A/h | 4 Hz
Jewels: 51
Power reserve: 68 h
Winding: Automatic

Case
Ceratanium® case
Diameter: 49 mm
Height: 19.5 mm
Glass: Sapphire, convex, antireflective coating on both sides
Screw-in crown
See-through sapphire-glass back
Water-resistant: 10 bar

Dial
Black dial, black and red hands
Mechanical external/ internal rotating bezel with IWC SafeDive system
Luminescent elements on hands, dial and internal rotating bezel

Strap
Black rubber strap
IWC bracelet quick-change system

Edition
Limited to 50 watches