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There’s no doubt that the IWC’s Pilot’s Watch collection is the most sought-after and under the loupe in the last years, with the majestic IWC Big Pilot’s Watch 43 breaking cover in 2021, extending the collection’s DNA to luxury sports watches in a smaller size and a quick change bracelet.
2022 officially kicks off with two new addictions: the IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Lake Tahoe and the IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Woodland Green. As the brand unveils new models, we’ll keep updating the article while previewing the two timepieces pictured here. Both models are valuable range extenders to the IWC Top Gun Chronograph template, which already counts several editions, the latest being the “Blue Angels” edition we reviewed at the end of 2021.
The IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Lake Tahoe
The Pilot’s Watch Chronograph comes with a white ceramic livery for the second time. However, the first release was not available to the public; it was a one-of-a-kind set of IWC Pilot’s Chronograph in White given to the Mission to Orbit‘s space crew and entitled Edition “Inspiration 4”. The Lake Tahoe version is the first commercial take on a white ceramic Pilot’s Watch Chronograph, which, as claimed by IWC, offers a US Navy uniform military inspiration, thus belonging to the Top Gun collection.
Tahoe is a large freshwater lake based across the Sierra Nevada mountains between California and Nevada and is close to Naval Air Station Fallon, where the Top Gun school operates. It works as a training spot for the US Navy‘s elite pilots, whose white uniform inspired the ceramic case’s white tone. The buttons and crown come in steel like the case back, while the strap is a very soft white rubber with a folding clasp.
The IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Woodland Green
The new Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Woodland Green is even more sophisticated than its sibling since the case and the dial come in matte dark green ceramic with the Chrono pushers, crown and case back engineered in Ceratanium®, IWC‘s exclusive titanium and ceramic compound.
The Woodland Green adopts a pin buckle replacing the Tahoe‘s folding clasp, sporting a military pedigree like no other. As with any new Pilot’s Watches, the lume performance stands out in the benchmark while both models share the same technical layout.
Technical features
Lake Tahoe and Woodland Green come with a 44,5 mm wide case whose thickness stops at 15,7 mm, housing the in-house 4Hz IWC 69380 calibre, capable of running for 46 hours when fully wound.
The chronograph function adopts a column-wheel mechanism, and the movement is surrounded by an additional soft iron inner case to protect it against magnetic fields. IWC will produce both models in a single run of one thousand units per year, and the pricing is as follows: € 10,100 for Lake Tahoe and € 11,100 for Woodland Green.
(Photo credit: Marco Antinori for Horbiter®)
Redazione @Horbiter®
