IWC Schaffhausen Spitfire Chronograph
IWC is world renowned because of its exceptional legible dials and passion for innovative techniques in horology. This manufacturer is decidedly minimalist, and has won the hearts of many with its clean lines and classy finishes. The brand began in 1868 under Florentine Ariosto Jones, who was a watchmaker from Boston, Massachusetts. Jones soon found himself being noted for his particularly accurate watches coming out of the Schaffhausen region.
The Spitfire line of watches hails from the Pilot’s Watches collection and features an in house movement Calibre 89265 made in Switzerland. This movement carries a 68 hour power reserve when fully wound and a Flyback function attached to the chronograph. Flyback functions are used primarily in aviation styled watches where quick, successive timing is needed. The case secures the movement against displacements from untimely drops in air pressure.
The case is sculpted from solid, polished stainless steel and boasts dimensions of 43mm for the diameter (excluding the crown and pushers). This fantastic piece sits high on the wrist with a case height of 15.5mm. The conservative two tiered bezel holds snugly the sapphire crystal which is glare proofed on both sides and has a convex shape enhancing the general legibility of the dial. The sapphire crystal was chosen by IWC for its resistance to scratches. The main crown is ridged allowing for easy modifications of the date and time.
The dial is hued in a metallic grey Ardoise color; it features large Arabic numerals, and indexes at the 3, 6, 9, and 12 positions. The hands are satin finished and sword shaped which stand out against the dial nicely. All of the elements on the dial are luminescent resulting in optimum readability during low light conditions. The chronograph can time any event of up to 60 minutes. This is displayed in a sub dial at 12, with the chronograph seconds being indicated by a central hand. The counter at the 6 o’clock position indicates the continuous seconds via a red hand. Completing the dial is a large date display window which indicates today’s date with a small red triangle.
The strap is brown alligator leather, which has been hand stitched and fitted with a classic ardillon buckle. The Spitfire Chronograph comes in two other versions; a red gold on leather, and steel on steel. IWC offers a 2 year International Guarantee for their watches.
