Our Earthly idea of time appears very totally different in space. For astronauts on board a space station orbiting our planet roughly each 90 minutes, there are a number of sunrises and sunsets inside 24 hours.
What watch then, ought to an astronaut put on? One Swiss maker has a brand new answer. Luxury model IWC Schaffhausen’s newest watch – the Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive – is its first particularly designed and engineered for timekeeping in space.
Unveiling on the world’s most high-profile watchmaking present – Watches and Wonders – in Geneva on Tuesday, it has obtained spaceflight qualification from the California-based space station developer Vast for use on Haven-1. This is anticipated to be the world’s first business space station on its deliberate launch subsequent yr.
An excessive surroundings demanded an modern method. The watch’s minimalist design doesn’t have a crown (the small knob usually discovered on the three o’clock place that is used to wind a watch and set the time). This means “the watch cannot catch with any other elements in the space station or around your pressurized suit,” stated Christian Knoop, IWC’s chief design officer.
Instead, there is a system with a rotating bezel (a moveable ring across the dial) to regulate the features. These embody: further winding of the automated motion; setting the mission’s reference time (indicated by the central hour and minute arms on the matte black dial, plus one other hand on an outer scale with the 24-hour format); transferring the hour hand, if wanted, to show a second time zone corresponding to that of the astronaut’s house on Earth; and setting the date.
The wearer makes use of a swap on the aspect of the case on the 9 o’clock place to alter between these features.
“The advantage of this system is that it can be operated with gloves,” stated Knoop, who defined that lots of the watches beforehand chosen or certified for space had been designed for use on Earth.
For watchmakers, creating a bit that may survive in space is a hefty engineering problem. “Having watches that can perform so well in that environment makes them the toughest watches you can buy,” stated Paul Boutros, head of watches for the Americas at main public sale home Phillips.
IWC’s new design is made from white zirconium oxide ceramic and Ceratanium (a dark-finish materials developed by IWC that mixes the lightness of titanium and the hardness of ceramic). It has a white fluorinated rubber strap. These supplies can face up to the UV radiation and temperature fluctuations in space (between roughly –150 levels Celsius/-238 levels Fahrenheit within the shade and greater than 100 levels Celsius/212 levels Fahrenheit in direct daylight).
The watch underwent testing at Vast’s headquarters in Long Beach, California, together with publicity to forces of as much as 10g, exceeding the vibrations usually skilled by astronauts throughout rocket launch. The piece’s resistance to adjustments in strain was additionally assessed, together with the compatibility of the supplies with the Haven-1 surroundings. The space station will cater for missions by authorities astronauts, non-public astronauts and companies looking for to hold out microgravity analysis and manufacturing.
But whereas it was designed for astronauts, IWC is additionally hoping its new watch could have terrestrial attraction – for those that can afford it. It is priced at CHF 24,000 CHF ($28,200).
Time and space to be taught
IWC turned the official timekeeper of Vast in 2025, a task which adopted a few different cosmic collaborations. The watchmaker supplied modified Pilot’s Watch Chronograph items to the crews of SpaceX’s Inspiration4, the primary all-civilian non-public mission to orbit Earth, in 2021, and the Polaris Dawn business spaceflight in 2024.
Knoop stated the model discovered from these experiences that its watch actions and instances may face up to the circumstances of space, but it surely “wanted to improve the ergonomics and the interaction with the watch.” As a outcome, the brand new mannequin, made for the calls for of human spaceflight, has a distinctly totally different look to watches the model beforehand despatched into orbit.
But on this age of superior expertise, does an astronaut want a mechanical wristwatch in any respect? Hillary Coe, chief design and advertising officer at Vast, stated timekeeping is crucial to working in space and an “analogue timepiece is a simple but powerful way to stay grounded in the moment”.
“As an astronaut, your schedule is packed with important activities down to the minute,” she stated. “Having fast, quick access to the time in your wrist retains you centered and planning for what is subsequent, whether or not it is conducting the measurements of a microgravity science experiment or checking on the station’s operational standing.
“In addition to your mission schedule, you are also operating in an environment without a naturally occurring sense of day and night like Earth. Haven-1 will include circadian lighting to help ground the crew’s sense of time, but the timekeeping piece is another tool for helping the crew understand where they are on the 24-hour cycle.”
Beyond IWC, the watch world has lengthy had hyperlinks to space exploration. The Omega Speedmaster Professional, which had been certified by NASA in 1965 for manned space missions and extravehicular exercise, turned the primary watch worn on the moon when Buzz Aldrin wore it on the lunar floor in 1969. Earlier this month, astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II mission, who travelled farther from Earth than any people beforehand, wore Omega’s Speedmaster X-33.
Boutros stated watches with clear connections to space are sought-after and carry out nicely at public sale as a result of their rarity. Phillips bought a Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute (Ref.809), a mannequin with alterations for spaceflight requested by Scott Carpenter for his Mercury-Atlas 7 mission in 1962, for $156,250 in 2019. Boutros stated this is the second-highest public sale outcome for a Breitling watch. The piece had belonged to a different US astronaut, John Glenn.
This yr marks the ninetieth anniversary of IWC’s first watch tailor-made to the calls for of aviation. Knoop stated that, simply as some individuals who don’t maintain a pilot’s license are fascinated by pilot’s watches and carry the “spirit” of aviation with them once they put on them, so a watch designed to spaceflight necessities will be fortunately worn in a extra earthly setting.
That stated, space appears to be the subsequent frontier for luxurious manufacturers. Prada has already collaborated with Axiom Space on NASA spacesuits for the Artemis III lunar mission as a result of launch subsequent yr.
Meanwhile, space tourism firm Virgin Galactic final month opened gross sales for a restricted variety of $750,000 spaceflights. “If space travel becomes more prevalent you can bet that watchmakers will be trying to design pieces that cater to that very elite market,” stated Boutros.
Expect extra watches which can be out of this world — or at the very least designed to be worn there.