A watch designed from a blank sheet of paper for space
With 90 years of experience crafting tool watches for aviation, IWC Schaffhausen was no newcomer to space: the manufacture took part in the Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn human spaceflight missions. Until now, however, every watch that had travelled into orbit was fundamentally a terrestrial aviation watch adapted at the margins.
The Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive (Ref. IW328601) changes that. Unveiled at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026, it is the first IWC watch engineered entirely for the unique demands of human spaceflight. “Our engineers did not simply adapt an existing design,” explains Chris Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC. “They started from a blank sheet of paper.” Every detail — functionality, ergonomics, display, materials — has been purposefully optimised for the specific constraints of space.
A watch without a crown, operated through the bezel
The most visible innovation is also the most radical: the Venturer Vertical Drive has no crown. All functions are controlled through a patent-pending rotating bezel system, engineered to be operated while wearing the thick gloves of a space suit — the typical scenario of extravehicular activity (EVA).
Side view: rotating Ceratanium® bezel and rocker switch on the side of the case.
The movements of the bezel are transmitted to the winding stem through a vertical clutch system named “Vertical Drive”. A rocker switch on the side of the case allows the wearer to move between functions: manual winding, time-setting, second time zone adjustment. The watch can be wound using its integrated oscillating mass, or by rotating the bezel anti-clockwise — a hybrid winding system that operates equally well on Earth and in microgravity.
A 24-hour display engineered for orbital reality
The matt black, anti-reflective dial is pared down to the essentials. It shows two distinct times: the mission’s reference time is indicated by the central hands, and also in 24-hour format by a dedicated hand running along the outer scale, graduated from 00:00 to 24:00.
Matt black dial, triangular hands filled with green Super-LumiNova®, blue 24-hour and seconds hands — Ref. IW328601.
This format is not decorative: a space station completes a full orbit around the Earth in approximately 90 minutes, which translates to as many as 16 sunrises and sunsets within 24 hours. To keep a consistent work-and-sleep routine, astronauts rely on GMT (or UTC). The hour hand can be moved in one-hour increments to display a second time zone — home time during a mission, or, back on Earth, the destination time for frequent flyers.
The edges of the triangular hands are coated with green Super-LumiNova®, while the arrow-shaped tip of the 24-hour hand glows blue in the dark — a nod to the Earth’s horizon as seen by astronauts. The seconds hand and the thin inner ring share the same shade. All of this is powered by the new IWC-manufactured 32722 calibre, an automatic movement beating at 4 Hz (28,800 vph) with a power reserve of 120 hours, an integrated GMT module and a date window at 3 o’clock.
Ceramic and Ceratanium®: the answer to the extremes of space
A rocket launch exposes equipment to powerful vibrations and acceleration forces of up to 4g. In orbit, the watch faces vacuum, radiation and extreme temperature swings: over 100 °C in direct sunlight, down to -150 °C in the shade. To meet those conditions, IWC relied on two signature materials: a case in white zirconium oxide ceramic — second only to diamond on the Vickers hardness scale — paired with a bezel and case back in Ceratanium®, IWC’s proprietary alloy that combines the lightness of titanium with the hardness of ceramic.
The integrated strap is made from white FKM rubber (fluoroelastomer), prized for its excellent thermal insulation and UV resistance. The pin buckle is in Ceratanium®. The case back features an engraving that symbolically evokes a space vehicle — a tribute to human curiosity and the spirit of exploration. The watch measures 44.3 mm in diameter for 16.7 mm in thickness, water-resistant to 10 bar.
Tested and certified by Vast for Haven-1
IWC’s chosen partner, Vast, is among the most prominent players in the new space economy: the company is developing Haven-1, which is set to become the world’s first commercial space station upon its scheduled 2027 launch. Haven-2 will follow as a continuously crewed, multi-module station proposed as a successor to the International Space Station (ISS).
The Venturer Vertical Drive during testing at Vast’s facilities in Long Beach, California — subjected to forces of up to 10g.
At their headquarters in Long Beach, California, Vast’s engineers submitted the Venturer Vertical Drive to a battery of tests: vibration resistance, pressure changes, material compatibility with the Haven-1 environment. The vibration tests exposed the watch to forces of up to 10g, well beyond the loads astronauts experience during ascent. After each test, the watch remained intact and fully operational.
At the end of the process, the Venturer Vertical Drive fully met the requirements for Haven-1 and received from Vast an official certification for spaceflight — a first for an IWC watch.
Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive: minimalist design, rounded edges, black and white — IWC’s vision of a modern space watch.
A new era for the IWC tool watch
With the Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive, IWC Schaffhausen carries its tool-watch tradition into a new dimension — in both the literal and figurative sense. From aviation to aerospace, from Earth to low orbit, the manufacture extends its engineering-watchmaker legitimacy well into the 21st century. To discover this new release and the Maison’s full line-up, visit our dedicated pages for IWC Schaffhausen and the IWC Pilot’s Watches family.
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