IWC is expanding their use of colored ceramic to a broader range of cases this year, with the 41mm Pilot TOP GUN finally getting in on the action. The watch first welcomed the Lake Tahoe configuration, and this week we’re seeing the Mojave follow suit. These cases are a welcome sight in the less complicated realms of the brand’s expansive Pilot watch portfolio, and represent the third such example to use ceramic. IWC calls them the “colors of TOP GUN”, with the sand colored ceramic being inspired by Navy pilots’ flight suits, and the literal landscape around China Lake training grounds in the Western Mojave Desert. Also, you know, it just looks really cool.
IWC has been working with the Navy Fighter Weapons School (aka TOP GUN) since 2007, and has produced an impressive array of watches to honor the relationship in the years since. Technically, IWC is a licensee of the US Navy, but I can tell you from first hand experience, actual pilots in the program own and use the watches made for them. It makes for exhilarating ad campaigns and the like, but at the end of the day these are watches that need to make sense for the average person just as well. And they do. Especially the likes of the Pilot 41 TOP GUN, which is undone only by watches like the MKXX and Pilot 36 when it comes to practical ergonomics.
The Mojave colorway is quite unique in person, and while it may seem like a take on brown or bronze with a throwback vibe, it’s really nothing like that in the metal (er, material, rather). Rather than appearing vintage in tone, this hue and execution feels entirely intentional as a deliberate expression of a very specific color. It’s not aggressive, but it is dynamic in how it can be used. IWC has chosen to lean into the tone on tone look with this, and other Mojave watches, as it gives an even experience of what could be called a rather subtle color. There’s nothing to compliment or distract from the very specific tone achieved. From the base dial, to the color of the date disc, everything has been considered, and everything is done in service to Mojave.
Within the 41mm ceramic case resides the IWC automatic caliber 32112 with 120 hours of reserve. This sits behind a closed steel caseback that gets the TOP GUN stamp. I’d add that I appreciate the relegation of this mark to the caseback, rather than any kind of placement on the dial, which means this watch will find a broader base of fans, with no requisite for an affinity towards US Naval pilots. The case gets a 20mm lug span, and measures 11.4mm in total thickness for a proportional, and very even experience on the wrist.
IWC expanding their use of this ceramic is a good thing, and brings a much needed sense of versatility to their Pilot collection of watches. While we haven’t seen a bracelet constructed of the material, it’s something that would work well within the Ingenieur line, though perhaps that’s a watch we’ll see with a synthetic strap at some point down the line, making it a perfect candidate for such an expansion. As is, the Pilot 41 TOP GUN in Mojave is available now, and is priced at $8,500. IWC
Leave a Reply