The Swiss luxury watchmaker has unveiled the specially designed Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive at Watches and Wonders 2026 in Geneva.
This next-generation tool watch has been specifically designed and engineered from the ground up for the unique demands of human spaceflight and timekeeping in space. Inspired by astronauts wearing space suits with gloves, all functions of the watch can be controlled through an innovative, patent-pending rotating bezel system, eliminating the need for a crown.
The Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive is crafted using lightweight white zirconium oxide ceramic and Ceratanium, ensuring high durability and resistance to temperature fluctuations. This tool watch underwent rigorous testing by IWC’s brand partner, Vast, the company developing next-generation space stations.
IWC Schaffhausen boasts 90 years of experience in crafting tool watches that are purpose-designed to meet the requirements of aviation. In recent years, the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer has gained first experiences in space through participating in the Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn human spaceflight missions. However, every watch that has travelled to space to date has essentially been a modified terrestrial aviation watch.
As commercial space exploration enters a new era, IWC Schaffhausen is now pushing the limits with the Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive (Ref. IW328601). This milestone marks the first IWC watch that has been designed and engineered from the ground up for the unique and challenging demands of human spaceflight.
Designed for Operation without a Crown
The Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive features an innovative, patent-pending rotating bezel system that allows all watch functions to be controlled without the use of a crown. Inspired by the scenario of astronauts wearing a space suit during spacewalks (EVA, or ExtraVehicular Activity), the ultimate exploration moment, the watch is designed to be able to be operated while wearing gloves.
Displaying the Mission’s Reference Time in a 24-Hour Format
The watch boasts a matte black dial that is reduced to the absolute essentials and avoids light reflections. With highly legible markings, it displays two different times. The mission’s reference time is indicated by the central hour and minute hand and also in 24-hour format by a dedicated hand on the outer dial scale, which runs from 00:00 to 24:00.
The necessity for a 24-hour display comes from the fact that a spacecraft or a space station completes an orbital cycle around the Earth roughly every 9
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