ReviewSuperheroes, Supervillains, And Super-Cool Prop Watches: Presenting The Limited Edition IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month Watches
What started out as a prototype on the sets of DC’s aquatic superhero film 'Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom' was too cool to just be a prop, so IWC created the limited edition Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month, a watch with the same red or blue glow as seen in the film, but whose functions are actually way cooler
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On the 613th day of an underwater expedition in the DC superhero film Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the character Black Manta was on an extremely tight deadline to steal a powerful fuel, orichalcum. To keep time, he looks to his wrist where a futuristic black timepiece glows red. A prototype made by Schaffhausen-based IWC, the watch was just too cool, probably even the coolest prop in the film. It seemed unfair that this was just a prop. So, the brand released a limited edition Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month watch based on the Aquaman prototype. Only, this Aquatimer may actually be much cooler because of all its functions—an efficient perpetual calendar, and flyback chronograph functions, besides regular timekeeping. Interestingly, the IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month is a functional dive watch with safety features built into it.
Glowing Eyes, Glowing Dial: IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month
With multiple appearances on the wrist of American actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who plays David Kane/Black Manta, the watch has a prominent role. Its red glow matches the character’s costume and eerie, glowing red eyes. And actor Randall Park’s Dr Stephen Shin is seen wearing a similar IWC watch with a bright blue Super-LumiNova glow. With the same red and blue Super-LumiNova against a black case and dial, the IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month offers practical features like a perpetual calendar display, and a flyback chronograph. At 12 o’clock on the dial is a sub-dial that displays the 12-hour chronograph recorder. A central flyback chronograph hand is in blue or red, while timekeeping hands are generously filled with the glowing luminescence. Blue or red Super-LumiNova decorates the diving bezel, hour markers, minute track, and all other numerals and markers on the watch face.
At six o’clock on the dial is a small seconds sub-dial, which houses the leap year indication. On two partially obscured sub-dials at nine o’clock and three o’clock are the date and month displays, respectively, in digital format for easy reading. The filigreed hexagonal pattern obscuring the sub-dials evoke compound eyes of an insect, which is also what Black Manta’s costume in the movie resembles. In any case, this sort of shields the glowing numerals beneath, allowing the viewer to focus on the numbers in the large windows. There is no need to manually correct the date during a leap year as the numerals ‘02’ and ‘29’ are programmed to appear together only once in four years.
A Robust, Safe, Versatile Dive Tool: IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month
With cases sized at 49mm, the Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month watches are among the largest in IWC’s arsenal. Ceratanium, with the lightness of titanium and hardness of ceramic, is used for the case, crown, pushers, and caseback ring. A proprietary material, ceratanium is created from titanium. It undergoes an intense heat treatment that gives it ceramic’s scratch-resistant properties. Curved sapphire crystal sits over the dial and caseback, with antireflective treatment. The caseback offers a view of the IWC automatic manufacture calibre 89802, with a double pawl winding system that gives the watch a cool power reserve of 68 hours. Functions include hours, minutes, flyback chronograph, hacking seconds, perpetual calendar, date and month displays, and a leap year indicator.
The case offers a water resistance rating of 100m. So this won’t be as handy on a deep dive like supervillain Black Manta’s underwater expedition. But it can be worn while scuba diving, while snorkelling, in the pool, or in shower. Among the safety features built into the watch is IWC’s internal/external rotating bezel that allows the wearer to set dive time that helps track oxygen levels. Once set, even if the external bezel ring is rotated, the IWC SafeDive system won’t let the display on the internal ring change, so the dive time remains the same even if the bezel gets rotated accidentally.
While the watch is paired with a black rubber strap that matches the case and dial, it is equipped with the brand’s quick-change system. Like all other IWC Aquatimer watches, this Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month watch too allows the wearer to easily change the strap without the use of additional tools.
The IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month in a nutshell
- Case: 49mm, Ceratanium (alloy with titanium’s lightness, ceramic’s hardness)
- Glass and caseback: Sapphire crystal
- Dial: Black; accents in blue or red Super-LumiNova; central chronograph hand; sub-dials at 12 for the for 12-hour chronograph recorder, three o’clock with the digital month display, small seconds and leap year indication at six, and date at nine o’clock
- Functions: Hours, minutes, hacking small seconds; flyback chronograph with 12-hour recorder, digital date and month display, leap year indicator
- Movement: IWC manufacture calibre 89802; automatic; 68 hours of power reserve
- Strap: Black rubber strap equipped with easy-change system
Limited to 25 pieces each for the blue and red Super-LumiNova versions, the watch is a dream for collectors—and fanboys (we’re not judging). Its robust construction, bold displays and super-cool functions make the IWC Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month watch a superhero in the watch world. This is exactly why a collaboration between watch brand and superhero franchise makes perfect sense, wouldn’t you agree?
FAQs
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Why is titanium a good choice for a watch case?
Titanium makes excellent watch cases due to its lightness, strength, and durability. Comfortable for daily wear, it resists scratches and corrosion, which is ideal for active lifestyles, not to mention its non-magnetic properties that enhance the movement's accuracy. Though pricier than steel, titanium's mix of comfort, resilience, and practical benefits makes it a favoured material for both luxury and sports watches.
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What is a perpetual calendar?
A perpetual calendar is a complication in a watch which displays day of the week, date and month for decades without having to make any adjustments. Perpetual calendars are even adjusted to show 29 days in February during a leap year. Some perpetual calendars can effectively show the day and date for up to a century.
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What is a dive watch?
A dive watch is an analogue timepiece, which originated as a tool watch used by professional divers, back in the day when dive computers and other electronic tools did not exist. The key elements of a dive watch are, big bold hour and (perhaps) minute markers and hands, a unidirectional-rotating 60-minute diver-timer bezel, with a clearly marked scale, adequate luminosity for the dial and minute markers. The clear and luminous markers and hands are for easily legibility underwater. Often dive watches have straps that can be micro-adjusted for length, in order to make them fit over the sleeve of a diving suit. Dive watches must be water-resistant up to a depth of at least 100m, but the standard is 300m. Deep-sea-diving watches can be water-resistant to 600m, 1,000m or even more.
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How does a unidirectional dive-timer bezel work?
A rotating bezel with a 60-miunte timer scale can be used to time any activity, technically in seconds, minutes or hours even. At the start of the activity, the bezel must be rotated to align it with the relevant hand (hour, minute, or seconds hand), and the end of the activity, one can know how long it has been since the start time, which is marked by the bezel. A dive-timer bezel is to measure duration of a dive in minutes, and is unidirectional. It can be rotated only counter-clockwise, for the sake of safety. When a diver starts their dive, they can mark the start time by rotating the bezel. If the bezel were able to rotate clockwise, it could adversely change the time spent on the dive, as the duration will read as shorter, while the diver will have been underwater longer than that, and may be misleading for them in a dangerous way. Hence it is unidirectional for the diver's safety. If it accidentally does rotate further counter-clockwise, that will only show the dive time as longer, which would anyway be a warning to the diver, who would then take the necessary action or precaution.
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How do you use a chronograph?
To use a chronograph, one needs to press the top pusher to start and stop the timing function. On the other hand, the bottom pusher often resets the chronograph hands to zero. Some models may also have additional features such as a tachymeter scale for measuring speed or distance.
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What is a small seconds dial in wristwatches?
Small seconds in wristwatches appear on a sub-dial that displays a dedicated seconds hand. A small seconds dial not only adds a visual distinction to the watch face but also enhances legibility. The small seconds complication is particularly valued in high-end timepieces.
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Is ceramic lighter than metal?
Ceramic is certainly lighter than steel and heavier precious metals such as gold and platinum. However, it is not lighter than titanium, which is known for its durability, despite its lightweight property.
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Is ceramic durable?
While ceramic is generally scratch-resistant and robust, owing to the hardness of the substance, it is still vulnerable to breakage and shattering. However, that will happen only if it faces estremely strong impact, from it being hit on a hard surface, or falling onto the floor with force. If you are reasonably careful with your ceramic watch, just as you must be with your cell phone, then the risk of damage is less.
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IWC Aquatimer
IW379405
