IWC at SIHH 2019

Next week, the place to be is the SIHH 2019 , some lucky collectors were
invited so I hope we will see plenty of posts on the forum.

For the first time we have a SIHH landing page:
www.iwc.com/ch/en/articles/journal/iwc-at-
sihh-2019.html

There are some nice articles, but also an interview with fellow collector
Antonio Gomes.

Enjoy the read.

best regards
from Sihh, an amazing booth. More to come in a few hours.

some more
teasing before embargo lift ;)

the
amazing booth, watches are still under embargo until tomorrow.

The one that speaks to
me...

Watches watches watches, will try to make some more wristshots
today.

in
bronze

The finishing of the bronze cases is sandblasted, so the patina will appear
quicker.

this
case is in ceratanium

Each material has specific properties and different advantages. Stainless
steel,
for instance, is rust￾proof and easy to process. Titanium is lightweight and
unbreakable but difficult to process. Ceramic is not susceptible to wear and
is so hard that it can only be scratched with a diamond. The search for a
material that satisfies both the functional and aesthetic requirements of a
watch is a key component of the engineering approach at IWC. The Schaffhausen-
based manufacturer is now taking its material innovations one step further:
Ceratanium® (ceramized titanium) is a material developed by IWC that combines
the outstanding advantages of titanium and ceramic in a groundbreaking new
material. The base material, a special titanium alloy, is as lightweight and
unbreakable as titanium. Its treated surface, however, is just as hard and
scratch-resistant as ceramic. The starting material for Ceratanium® is a
special titanium alloy. The manufacturing process for this alloy involves
multiple stages and is extremely complex, as the raw material must have an
extremely high degree of purity. The blank is initially machined to give the
various case components their final shape. This is followed by a furnace
process. During this process, oxygen diffuses into the material, a phase
transformation takes place and the surface of the metal becomes ceramic. With
this special surface finish, the material not only takes on the typical
properties of ceramic such as extreme hardness and scratch resistance, but
also develops a striking, matte black colour. In contrast to conventional
coating procedures used today such as DLC, which can separate from the carrier
or flake off, the ceramic surface of Ceratanium® adheres permanently to the
material. It therefore does not separate, even if the watch is somehow
knocked. As well as its optimum material properties, what characterises
Ceratanium® is its matte black colour. It therefore also fufilled customers'
desire for a completely jet black look watch at the start of the five-year
development process. For the first time, Ceratanium® will be used for a
pilot's watch in the new TOP GUN collection and it will also be the first time
IWC has used this material for an unlimited watch. In the Pilot's Watch Double
Chronograph TOP GUN Ceratanium (Ref. IW371815), all case components, including
accessories such as the chronograph push-buttons or the pin buckle, are made
from Ceratanium®. This gives the watch a completely jet black design.

some
detail pictures from the booth.