In the midst of what can only be described as Ingenieur Mania at Watches & Wonders a few weeks ago, IWC quietly unveiled a pair of watches in their Pilot collection that would have certainly been the headline grabbing highlights in almost any other year. It?s interesting in terms of strategy (they clearly wanted to focus heavily on the new Ingenieur, a watch that has been long requested by collectors and clearly represents years of fine tuning) and because, well, the new Pilot?s Chronographs on display were kind of awesome, and show that even in an off year, IWC is completely committed to maintaining their King of the Pilot Watch status. 

What we have here are two 41mm Pilot?s Chronographs in ceramic, which represents the first time the brand has gone ceramic in this particular size. You?ll recall that last year the marquee releases were two colored ceramic Pilot?s Chronos (in ?Tahoe? white and ?Woodland? green), but both were in a somewhat unwieldy 44.5mm case. The 41mm size was introduced in steel in 2021, a welcome downsize from the 43mm case IWC had been using immediately prior, and has since seen versions in titanium and Ceratanium. IWC has demonstrated a fondness for variety when it comes to materials, so it was only a matter of time before the smaller pilot chrono got the ceramic treatment.  First up, the Pilot?s Chronograph in ?Oceana,? a shade of blue developed with Pantone, and inspired by the color of overalls worn by members of the United States ...