These days, space travel is becoming far more mainstream, and commercial flights should be available within our lifetimes. One upcoming space flight, the Inspiration4, is set to happen this mid-September with the launch of the SpaceX rocket. To commemorate this monumental occasion, IWC Schaffhausen has designed a watch, dubbed the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition “Inspiration4”, which will play a crucial role in this space mission, as equipment strapped to the wrists of each of the four civilian astronauts during the spaceflight. In addition, these four watches will be used as fundraising tools when all four examples are auctioned off on November 6th, with all proceeds going to benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
Rendered in stark space-age white, the case of the IWC “Inspiration4” follows the clean utilitarian lines of the standard Pilot’s Watch Chronograph with a durable 44.5mm zirconium oxide ceramic case. For the dial, IWC coats its standard Pilot’s Watch Chronograph design with a liberal dose of astronaut theming. The grainy matte-midnight-blue lacquered dial surface is speckled throughout with a printed white star pattern motif, and the 6 o’clock running seconds subdial foregoes a scale in favor of a printed Inspiration4 mission patch. The slightly rounded printed Arabic numerals, iconic Flieger handset, and day/date complication at 3 o’clock are all present here, with cleanly integrated dial-matching day and date wheels. Each of the four IWC models bears an engraved titanium caseback with the ‘Inspiration4’ mission emblem, along with the assigned crew member’s name and one of the mission’s four core values: Leadership, Hope, Generosity, and Prosperity.
For information about another recent IWC release, check out the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Edition “Las Vegas”.
