Pilot's Venturer Vertical Drive
Complimentary standard delivery
All orders come with complimentary standard delivery. Watches or accessories will be shipped to your home or professional address within 3 to 5 business days. Alternatively, you can select to have your order available for pick-up at a boutique.
Personalization options
You can choose from various personalization options. For select models, we offer engraving services to add a specific date or name on the case back. Additionally, you can purchase different straps or bracelets to match your timepiece to your style.
Watch expert personal shopping
For orders placed by telephone, our concierge shopping service is available to help you find the perfect watch. A watch expert will guide you through our collections and answer any questions you may have about different models and complications.
Virtual watch try-on
You can try on our watches virtually before placing your order. The IWC App, available for download in all major app stores, features a try-on function using augmented reality. Point your smartphone camera at your wrist to see how a watch looks on you.
Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive
Drawing on 90 years of experience in crafting precision instruments for aviation, IWC’s engineering division XPL is taking the concept of a tool watch beyond the sky: the Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive has been engineered from the ground-up for human spaceflight missions. Tailored for astronauts wearing space suits with gloves, all functions can be controlled through an innovative, patent-pending rotating bezel system. A rocker switch integrated into the side of the case enables the wearer to switch between various functions, including winding the movement and setting the time.
On the black and highly legible dial, two different times can be displayed. The reference time (mission time) is indicated by a dedicated hand on the outer scale, which runs from 00:00 to 24:00. Presenting the time in a 24-hour format is a necessity in space. Since a space station orbits the Earth approximately every 90 minutes, astronauts experience up to 16 sunrises and sunsets within 24 hours. To organize their work and sleep schedules, they rely on the 24-hour format of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) or UTC (Universal Time Coordinated). The central hour and minute hands usually stay synchronized with this reference time. If required, however, the hour hand can be moved in one-hour increments to display a second time zone. An astronaut can use this function to show home time in any location on Earth. After returning to Earth, the second time zone feature can be used to display the local time at the destination of travel.
To ensure high robustness and reliable operation during all mission phases, the Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive is crafted from advanced performance materials. Its case is made of white zirconium oxide ceramic, while the rotating bezel and the case back are made of Ceratanium®. This combination makes the watch not only highly robust and scratch-proof but also immune to temperature fluctuations – an essential feature in space, where temperatures can exceed 100 degrees Celsius in direct sunlight and plummet to -150 degrees Celsius in the shade. The watch is fitted with a white integrated FKM rubber strap, providing excellent thermal insulation and resistance to UV radiation.
Inside the case, the IWC-manufactured 32722 calibre is at work. Its hybrid winding system allows winding of the watch either through the integrated oscillating mass or by turning the rotating bezel, ensuring efficient operation both on Earth and in microgravity or zero-gravity environments.
The Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive has undergone extensive type testing by IWC’s partner, Vast, the pioneering space habitation technology company currently designing and constructing the world’s first commercial space station, Haven-1. The watch has successfully met all the testing criteria for Haven-1 spaceflight environments and crew usage, earning an official certification for spaceflight from Vast.