IWC Aces It with a Fully Luminous Dial – the New IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces

The IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces shines bright as the watchmaker’s first in the realm of fully luminous dials. 

Up until the last few years, luminosity in watchmaking was a field that hadn’t seen much change or improvement. The strontium aluminate-based Super-LumiNova material that we so often see in modern watch designs was introduced in the 1990s and serves as the most modern type of luminosity in Haute Horlogerie today. Luminous details, of course, became a very important aspect of watch-wearing during the First World War, when some of the earlier wrist-worn instruments were introduced. They needed to be able to carry out important manoeuvres in low-light settings and clearly present the time simultaneously.

Radioactive materials marked the beginnings of watchmaking standards for luminosity back then. Brands like Panerai became world leaders in this area of expertise. When this material was fully phased out due to health risks, it was replaced with tritium. Some manufacturers still use tritium in the form of gas tube light technology, like Ball Watch Company. Aside from its undeniable use in tool watches and dive watches, luminous material has become a somewhat aesthetical enhancement to watch designs, too. Nevertheless, mainstream watch brands offer luminous detailed dials as a standard in each one of their designs. IWC Schaffhausen is one example, which brings us to one of the company’s recent innovations – the IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces.

What Makes a Dial Luminous?

Ever wondered how luminous watch dials work? It’s still an area that many enthusiasts don’t fully understand, even though it’s a requirement that most of us have in a watch. What allows a watch dial to glow in the dark is a material known as phosphorescent. It’s a special kind of photoluminescence (which is another name given to something that can emit light after it has been exposed to a source of light itself). Light is composed of photons and if an electron absorbs a photon inside a material, it will be excited to a higher energy state. It is then the point at which the electron relaxes that it emits the photon which we then see as light. The glow on a watch dial is what makes a timepiece so indispensable for military personnel, deep sea divers and those carrying out critical missions in their line of work. 

IWC’s First Fully Luminous Dial

The Black Aces watch from IWC is a pilot’s watch that shines bright in a special edition design that marks a collaboration with the members of the Strike Fighter Squadron 41 VFA-41, AKA the Black Aces. The brand has been making mechanical pilot watches for 85 years and has released emblematic models like the Big Pilot and the Pilot Chronograph over this time. Part of the brand’s wider pilot watch portfolio is its collaborative models made in conjunction with the US Navy. The Strike Fighter Squadron 41 VFA-41 is a fighter-jet squadron that is based at the Naval Air Station Lemoore in California. Together, the new Pilot’s Watch  Automatic 41 design is equipped with a scratch-resistant matte black zirconium oxide ceramic case. It measures a 41mm diameter, as its name would suggest, and bears a thickness of 11.4mm in height. Thanks to the material’s matte finish and its ability to remove any reflection, the new model looks incredibly tactile and geared for purpose. The top of this case is reinforced with a domed anti-glare piece of scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. Turn the watch over, however, and you can enjoy a fully screwed-in titanium caseback, finished with notches that you can grab onto to unscrew it, should you ever need to. A twin-engine jet is also delicately etched into the surface of the metal and is set against a background of spades. 

Now onto the most important feature of the watch – that fully luminous dial. The bright green luminous material used for the surface of the dial in this IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces model is a rich green colour that emits a lot of light. Even the smallest amount of sunlight can charge this dial. The display is achieved through a special process that requires the Super-LumiNova pigments to be mixed with a binder and then out into a mould. Once the material is hardened, it has an almost ceramic-like durability. IWC experts fix this watch with a soft iron dial. The black Arabic numerals are a soft glossy black colour that contrasts beautifully against the whiteness of the dial in the daytime. The hour and minute hands are finished in black and filled with more luminous material, while the second hand, also in black, features a red tip for enhanced legibility.

The southern hemisphere of the dial of this IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces watch features the Ace of Spades motif. Adding a shed load of life to this watch is the fact that the dial turns from a crisp white in the daytime to a rich green tactic-like tool watch when in night mode. When IWC subjected the watch to its own dark chamber testing, the dial glowed for 24 hours, ensuring that there would be no risk of losing its glow in the night. 

Inside the IWC Big Pilot’s Automatic 41 Black Aces watch is the automatic Calibre IW32100. It performs at a rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour and provides a power reserve of 72 hours. The engine is fitted with a double pawl winding system, increasing the efficiency of the rotor. It’s also protected from magnetic fields thanks to a soft iron inner case and a silicone escapement. 

To complete its stylish look, the IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 Black Aces model is fitted on a black textile strap with a soft and durable leather lining for comfort on the wrist. It is secured with a sandblasted stainless steel pin buckle. The watch is not limited by number but is made exclusive to IWC stockists only. If you would like to secure a piece for yourself, you can do this by calling and speaking to a member of our Jura Watches sales team today at 01335 453453 or emailing us a question at help@jurawatches.co.uk