The Swiss watch brand IWC has finally unveiled their black ceramic IWC Da Vinci chronograph replica watch. Judging by the looks of it, the timepiece is going to be even more successful than the rose gold members of the Da Vinci family.
The choice of materials makes the watch look more elegant and also drives down the costs of production, because the ceramic part of the case requires enormous amount of energy to machine it to a perfect form.
With its central section made of zirconium oxide (ZrO2,) which is both chemically inert and extremely hard, the 44 mm case also sports a bezel, case-back, winding crown and chronograph push-pieces made of polished titanium.
However, combining the scratch-resistant ceramic case with scratch-prone metal parts, IWC somehow defeats the very concept of a ceramic watch, which is supposed to always look like you have just bough it at your nearest AD.
Inside the mens IWC Da Vinci Chronograph copy watch is hidden the Caliber 89360 automatic chronograph movement we have already seen in the last year’s IWC Aquatimer Chronograph in Red Gold (Ref. IW3769) and IWC Big Ingenieur Chronograph models.
First unveiled about three years ago and developed exclusively for the Da Vinci family of watches, the movement features a column-wheel chronograph switching, free sprung balance with 4 adjustable weights, flyback function and impressive 68 hours of power reserve with single barrel mainspring.
Well, I hope that in a couple of years IWC will finally find an economically feasible way of making full-ceramic cases.
By the way, if you still haven’t seen the chronograph in action, here is a four-minute video that shows how the watch looks and how its beautiful movement works. Enjoy the video below:
Not only such a layout makes it easier to grasp the chronograph’s readings with a single glance, it also makes the dial looks less cluttered, like those of classic chronographs from 1930s.
As you can see, the combo-dial, which is placed at 12 o’clock, is visually balanced by a small seconds sub-dial that sits at 6 hours sharing its space with a small date aperture.
*UPDATE ON PRICE: IWC plans to sell this beautiful Da Vinci Chronograph Ceramic at a minimum street price of $18,000. The prohibitively high MSRP will surely lock out a great number of enthusiasts from even dreaming about getting one of these beauties, but it still seems to be more or less justified by its gorgeous in-house caliber and the choice of materials for its case. After all, this Da Vinci is one of the dressiest non-platinum chronographs that money can buy.
Photos: IWC
Also, the watch features IWC replica watch’s signature “combo” dial that unites the chronograph hours and minutes counters putting them to work in a single double-handed totalizer.