New model Spitfire Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month (Ref. 379103) by the company IWC at the exhibition SIHH 2012

At the Geneva exhibition SIHH 2012 the famous watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen has presented his magnificent wrist watch Spitfire Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month (Ref. 379103) from the collection Spitfire. The novelty of its design, as well as materials from which made, differs from previous models in this line. The centerpiece of the dial is date indicator of perpetual calendar, which is reminiscent of the altimeter on the instrument panel of aircraft. It should be noted that the prototype of Spitfire fighter made its first flight in 1936 in March. At the same time, a group of designers and watchmakers in the Swiss town of Schaffhausen was finishing work on a prototype of another kind. It was a model IWC Special Pilot's Watch, presented to the public in the same year.
However, the aircraft and watch are united not only by the year. The watch and the aircraft started in the same year, enriching its area of revolutionary mechanics and functional design. Fighter under the name Spitfire has become a legend. It was released in large numbers - 20 000 aircraft in various versions. This figure is a record for the UK to nowadays.
The gorgeous watch - chronograph created by masters of IWC in this year, combined the best traditions of watch making and innovation. The mechanism, which the model was equipped with, is adapted to extreme temperatures, and the escapement is immune to strong magnetic fields. The watch design was also great: dial, made in black colors, is equipped with figures coated with fluorescent substance, which remains a model of classical pilot’s watches. In 2003 the watch company IWC Schaffhausen first developed and released wrist watch Pilot's Watch, named after the fighter Spitfire. This watch has become a reflection of elegance and outstanding technical qualities of single-rotor aircraft. Designers and craftsmen of the company decided to recreate the watch. The result was striking: a modern design, new features, all in one model, assembled on the mechanism of manufactory. 46 mm round watch case with thickness of 17.5 mm is made of 18 carat pink gold. The slate-gray dial and decoration in the form of sunlight gives watch a delightful appearance. When the watch is tilted at an angle, the reflection of light from their polished surfaces begins to move in a circle. The dial has Arabic numerals; chronograph counters at the hour markers 12 and 6, as well as the date and month apertures at the top of the dial between the hour markers 2 and 3, 9 and 10. Domed sapphire crystal with two-sided anti-reflective coating protects the dial. The watch is delivered with brown alligator strap with folding clasp of 18 carat pink gold. Water resistance is 6 bars.
The novelty is equipped with a new manufactory mechanism 89800, which is a proof of skill and ingenuity of brand’s watchmakers. It's not so easy to create a mechanism with a perpetual calendar programmed until the year 2100. A digital date and month indicators, not only original and looks beautiful, but they are also the proof of achievements of watch brand IWC in Haute Horlogerie. This is due to the rather complex kinematics, involved in a synchronous drive the four calendars by changing the testimony at the end of each month and five discs in the end of each year. It does not affect the accuracy of the watch even in case of ending of power reserve or the simultaneous operation of the chronograph, despite all its energy. In the conventional mechanical watch such hard work of mechanism led to the depletion of energy stores. It took four years to develop this complex mechanism. Masters of the company had invented a device - a high-speed switch that allows store energy specifically for the calendar. Every night, when the date pointer moves forward, this device takes the particle energy to use the accumulated resources to turn the four disks in the end of the month. In late December, the same thing has happened, when due to the index of leap year cycle, the number of involved disks is increased to five. The beginning of each month and year marks a special occasion for the watch Spitfire Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month. The complex calendar device also takes into account the date-February 29 every 4 years.
Caliber 89 800 with self-winding is assembled on 52 stones, the frequency is 28,800 vibrations per hour, power reserve - 68 hours. The mechanism with the rotor with the outline of a fighter is equipped with functions: hours, minutes, seconds, one hour and minute counter at position 12 o'clock, the function flyback, small seconds with stop function, perpetual calendar, digital indicators of date and month, indicator of leap year cycle.