News

Jason Momoa Stars as ‘Aquaman’ Alongside Edgy New IWC Aquatimer Watches

by Troy Barmore . Dec 19, 2023

Jason Momoa Stars as ‘Aquaman’ Alongside Edgy New IWC Aquatimer Watches

IWC Schaffhausen designed prop watches especially for Warner Bros. Pictures’ Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom as well as two new limited edition Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month references that even non-superheros can buy.

Original photography by Stephen Pulvirent

Just about the only thing a comic fan loves more than seeing their favorite heroes and villains coming to life on the big screen, is being able to touch, feel, and own a piece of that movie. Normally, the closest one could get to actually owning a piece of Atlantean tech would be a finding a prop or a reproduction. But now, thanks to IWC, that is about to change. In celebration of the new film Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom, directed by James Wan and starring Jason Mamoa, Nicole Kidman, and Patrick Wilson, IWC has Partnered with Warner Bros. Pictures to release 2 limited editions of the Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month.

Above: The actual prop watches used in the film are versions of the automatic Aquatimer 2000.

The timepieces, limited to just 25 examples each, are inspired by the two prop watches which were developed for the film by IWC’s experimental engineering department XPL (think of it as IWC’s skunkworks). They feature two dramatic colorways (one red, one blue) to accompany the film’s villains – the vengeful David Kane (played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen), better known as Black Manta, and Dr. Stephen Shin (played by Randall Park), a marine biologist and ally to Black Manta, obsessed with uncovering the secrets of Atlantis. In keeping with the aesthetics of the character designs, as well as the high-tech and fantastical elements of the characters, the prop watches were developed to be vivid and evocative on screen companions.

When translating that inspiration into the real world, IWC dove into their archives for the perfect expression of their technical capabilities, resurrecting the Aquatimer Perpetual Digital Date-Month. With its combination of dramatic, technical and almost sci-fi styling, along with a dizzying degree of mechanical complexity, it’s a watch and movement that feels like it was born to play the role.

The two timepieces both feature the IWC-manufactured calibre 89802, a movement that is as wildly complex and mechanically interesting as it is visually striking. Last seen in the likes of the Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month 50^th from 2017, this movement features an array of functionality that could prove indispensable to anyone looking to dethrone the King of Atlantis (after all, you can’t rightly coordinate an attack on the greatest underwater civilization to ever exist if you mix up the day because a of a leap year or something, right?).

A flyback chronograph function, 68-hour power reserve, hacking seconds, and mechanical external/internal rotating bezel function (a completely unique interpretation on the unidirectional dive bezel known as IWC SafeDive System) all combine to create a multitude of tools for the horologically discerning supervillain. But far and away, the highlight of the watches, apart of course from the dramatic and contrasting bright red and blue luminous accents reflecting their on screen counterparts, is the digital date displays.

With digital readouts on discs for the day and month, all the while accounting for leap years, the glowing numerals sit beneath black hexagonal grates allowing the rest of the numbers to show through. In combination with the 49mm black Ceratanium case, the watches look like an instrument dial taken directly form the controls on the Manta-Sub itself.

Learn more on IWC’s website here.

Tech Specs

Movement IWC manufactured calibre 89802 self-winding movement, perpetual calendar with digital display, flyback chronograph, screw down crown, hacking seconds, IWC SafeDive System internal/external bezel

Case & Dial 49mm Ceratanium case and caseback ring, black dial with red luminous accents (REF. IW379405) and Blue luminous accents (IW379406), sapphire exhibition case back

Strap Black rubber strap with Ceratanium pin buckle

Availability & Price Limited Edition of 25 pieces each, MSRP $57,600 USD