IWC Schaffhausen / Watch design
Performance, under pressure.
Pilot’s Watch Performance Chronograph Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month
IW388801 · Ceratanium®
A digital perpetual calendar, a chronograph and a tachymeter bezel. Plenty going on. My task was to give that mechanical complexity a clearer, less vertical presence on the wrist.
Horizontal Brutality
IWC movements are unapologetically substantial. Instead of fighting that reality, the case was re-architected to “spread the cake.” Crown protection was extended to broaden the silhouette, and a deliberate counter-volume at 9 o’clock restores symmetry while reducing perceived height. What could have been the most vertical and brutal side of the case becomes a controlled horizontal composition. Thickness is still present, but visually disciplined.
DEPTH UNDER CONSTRAINT
Layering, shadows and structural separation give the dial depth while keeping production constraints in view.
The colourway was resolved collectively. My focus remained the architecture: clear hierarchy and a controlled sense of force.
The Manfredi Line
Between bezel and case ring, and again between caseback and case ring, a subtle interruption breaks the mass: internally known as the “Manfredi line.” Sometimes executed as a gasket, sometimes as a lacquered accent, it slices through the visual continuity and introduces a deliberate pause. It can glow, contrast, or refine. First explored on the Big Pilot’s Watch with Constant-Force Tourbillon in Titanium Aluminide and Ceratanium®, it now acts as both relief and signature, separating layers while binding them conceptually.
The result
Engineering presence.
Ceratanium®, a tachymeter bezel and a perpetual calendar bring technical resilience, speed and long-term timekeeping into one watch.
The case spreads its mass horizontally; the Manfredi line interrupts it. The movement is substantial. The proportions make that weight feel deliberate.
This project was developed during my tenure as a watch designer at IWC Schaffhausen. All designs, trademarks and intellectual property are the exclusive property of IWC Schaffhausen and the Richemont Group. The material presented here consists only of publicly released products and is shown solely to document my professional contributions.