IWC's first fully luminous ceramic watch can glow in the dark for over 24 hours

IWC’s first luminous ceramic watch with ceralume technology

Swiss watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen unveils the first fully luminous ceramic watch that gives off a bright blue-ish light in the dark for more than 24 hours. It’s a double celebration for the watchmaker: the introduction of this new model and the launch of its proprietary and patent-pending luminous ceramic technology called Ceralume, the technology that’s making the timepiece glow like a firefly (but in cool blue).

Craftsmen at IWC Schaffhausen ace it by mixing ceramic powders with high-grade Super-LumiNova pigments, a luminous material that acts like a battery for storing light energy, giving them a glowing result that can make the wearer leave light trails so their company can’t lose sight of them in the dark. On May 27th, the Swiss watchmaker posted an image on their Instagram that shows Lewis Hamilton wearing their ceramic watch with Ceralume technology at the Monaco Grand Prix, hinting at the potential availability of the timepiece in the near future.

images and video stills courtesy of IWC Schaffhausen

The Raw materials absorb light to glow in the dark

IWC Schaffhausen has tested its first ceramic watch that glows in the dark with Ceralume technology in dark chambers to make sure it is luminous. Before that, the design team added the high-grade Super-LumiNova pigments, engineered by Swiss technology company RC Tritec, to the ceramic raw materials.

These color components can absorb light energy from natural or artificial light, store it temporarily, and emit it as visible light. IWC Schaffhausen says this cycle can be repeated infinitely without causing the materials to rust or age or reducing the light storage capacity of the ceramic watch.

IWC Schaffhausen picks its Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 series for its first ceramic watch that glows in the dark

IWC Schaffhausen’s tailored techniques for their ceramic watch

A challenge that IWC Schaffhausen had to confront for their first ceramic watch that glows in the dark was a lump-free, homogenous mix of raw materials. They come in different particle sizes, so to avoid them from accumulating, the design engineers used a ball milling process, which had to be customized to the raw materials employed.

Even the parameters of the sintering process, or the method of ‘baking’ the ceramic at a high temperature, and the grinding of the sintered ceramic body are tailored and specifically adapted to the luminous watch to avoid damaging the glowing and timepiece properties.

IWC Schaffhausen’s first ceramic watch that glows in the dark uses its patent-pending Ceralume technology

IWC Schaffhausen’s first ceramic watch with Ceralume technology is carried out by its experimental division, XPL. They made the timepiece’s dial and rubber strap with Super-LumiNova pigments too, so that they all emit blue-ish light in the dark. The dial’s brass base is sprayed with a Super-LumiNova solution before the printing is added on top of the luminescent layer, while the white rubber strap receives these pigments using an injection molding process.

IWC Schaffhausen picks its Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 model series to transform into the first ceramic watch that glows in the dark. As of publishing the story, the Swiss watchmaker has filed a patent for their Ceralume technology, and their first luminous ceramic watch is yet to be made available for purchase.

Lewis Hamilton was seen wearing the glow-in-the-dark ceramic watch at Monaco Grand Prix