Home » The Salon International De La Haute Horlogerie » SIHH 2012 Preview – IWC Top Gun Miramar Watch
IWC from Schaffhausen has just released the images of their new Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Top Gun Miramar that will be presented at Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) 2012. Besides this novelty, five new TOP GUN models will be released at the 21st edition of the SIHH. With these newcomers, the TOP GUN collection establishes itself as an autonomous formation within the Pilot’s Watch family.
This year’s high-flyer is definitely the TOP GUN Miramar, named after the former location of the US Navy Fighter Weapons School where the myth of the elite pilots was born. The sporty Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Top Gun Miramar timepiece boasts a dark gray ceramic (zirconium oxide) case and titanium case-back, chronograph pushers and crown. The enormous case with the diameter of 48 mm is attached to a vintage-military-styled green textile strap with a buckle in titanium.
This Miramar model, like all watches from the TOP GUN collection, is powered by IWC-manufactured movement. The new in-house made Caliber 89365 features a flyback function, an analogue display for stopped minutes and seconds and provides impressive 168 hours of power reserve when fully charged. As the manufacturer claims, it is one of the most advanced and robust chronograph movements ever produced. The new Caliber is similar to that housed in the Portuguese Chronograph Yacht Club Watch (Caliber 89361).
The military-styled dial combines specific camouflage colors, such as beige for the hands and chapter ring, alongside with a matte anthracite surface. A cockpit-styled vertical triple date window is situated traditionally at the 3 o’clock position, while two sub-dials are located at 6 and 12 o’clock positions. There is also a red hour inner-ring with red Arabic numerals.
The Year of the Pilot’s Watches
Besides this chronograph, the Top Gun Miramar range will also have a 48 mm Big Pilot with a similar design. Big Pilot’s Watch TOP GUN combines a clear-cut instrument look of the 1940s with the latest watch technology. According to the IWC’s press release, this novelty comes with the same in-house made Caliber 51111 as its ancestor’s, Big Pilot’s Watch. This highly efficient mechanical movement is one of the largest automatic movements in the world.
In the year of the Pilot’s watches, we will see two Perpetual Calendar models: the new Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN, as well as the Spitfire Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month Watch.
I am really looking forward to seeing the new Pilot’s Watch World Timer which has a 24-hour ring that enables the wearer to look at all 24 time zones, including the Universal Time Coordinated (UTC). A city ring displays the names of 23 places around the globe, each of which represents a time zone. The local time shown on the dial can be adjusted in both directions, forwards and backwards, in one-hour steps.
In 2012, the Swiss manufacturer of luxury timepieces will present the new Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph housed in a larger case with the diameter of 46 mm. Also, one of the most popular Pilot’s watches, Mark XVI, will appear in a modified form. The new Mark XVII is 2 mm larger than its predecessor.
With all these new models, I dare to say that it will be more than interesting to watch IWC at SIHH 2012.
