Ceratanium is a special titanium alloy developed by IWC and first used in 2017 in the Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month Edition "50 Years Aquatimer". This innovative material combines the structural integrity of titanium with a scratch resistance comparable to that of ceramic, and exhibits a distinctive matte black colour. Having been among the first watch manufacturers to use ceramic and titanium for their models in the 1980s, IWC's materials engineers have now succeeded in combining the strengths of these two elements (ceramic and titanium) in a single material. As Christoph Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen, explains, "Ceratanium is unique not only because of its extraordinary material properties. In fact, its matt black colour allows us to create watches with a totally raven black design. After presenting several models with cases made of Ceratanium, we are now taking the next step by presenting a bracelet made of this innovative material for the first time. The two new models to use Ceratanium are the Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun Ceratanium and the Pilot's Watch Timezoner Top Gun Ceratanium, which are named after the famous Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor Program, the course run by the US Navy to train elite pilots in flying and tactical skills. IWC's Top Gun models are therefore designed to withstand the most extreme stresses, such as those experienced by pilots in the cockpit of their jet. The first one mentioned, with Ref. IW503604 and a 46.2 mm case water-resistant to 6 atmospheres, is also the first IWC model to use a bracelet made of Ceratanium. Produced in a limited series of 150 pieces, it is driven by the IWC-manufactured 52615 calibre (54 jewels, 28,800 vibrations per hour, 7-day power reserve), a self-winding mechanical movement visible through the smoked sapphire crystal porthole on the case back. On the black dial, protected by a domed sapphire crystal with double anti-reflective coating, are indications of the perpetual calendar (including the year in 4 digits between 7 and 8), the power reserve and the moon phases, the latter characterised by a deviation of just one day every 577.5 years. The Pilot's Watch Timezoner Top Gun Ceratanium (Ref. IW395505), in a 46-mm case and equipped with GMT and Worldtimer functions, is produced in a limited series of 500 pieces and is powered by the IWC-manufactured 82760 calibre (22 jewels, 28,800 vibrations per hour, 60-hour power reserve), a self-winding mechanical movement. The bidirectional rotating bezel is fitted with a ceramic ring. The watch can be set to a different time zone simply by pressing and rotating the bezel itself; in this way, the hour hand and 24-hour display advance or retract in one-hour increments. The Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun Ceratanium and the Pilot's Watch Timezoner Top Gun Ceratanium are available from IWC boutiques, authorised distributors and online at www.iwc.com. Finally, both watches can be registered under the My IWC service programme and thus benefit from an extension of the international warranty to 6 years instead of 2.
