In a tradition spanning back to 2006, IWC has announced its annual release of a special-edition timepiece to support the charitable efforts of Laureus Sport for Good in its stated mission of “using sport to transform the lives of children and young people and end violence, discrimination, and disadvantage.” This year’s model, the Pilot’s Watch Automatic Edition “Laureus Sport for Good,” also has the distinction of being the first in the series to pair the hallmark Laureus Blue dial with a case made of tough, scratch-resistant ceramic.

The 41-mm case’s rich blue color is achieved through a complex manufacturing process in which powdered zirconium oxide is mixed with other metallic oxides, with the mixture then being shaped and sintered in a furnace. As with all colored ceramics ? like the sand-colored variety used in IWC’s Top Gun Mojave Desert Edition of 2019 ? the process is extremely difficult and requires the highest level of quality and purity in the materials used. The ultra-legible cockpit-style dial, in the signature Laureus blue of the collection, features black-outlined sword hands and large Arabic numerals, all treated with Super-LumiNova; a central red-tipped seconds hand that skips along the white outer minute track; a date window at 3 o’clock, and the historical triangle and dots for orientation at 12 o’clock.
The caseback, made of titanium, also follows in the traditions established ...