Our Earthly concept of time looks very different in space. For astronauts on board a space station orbiting our planet roughly every 90 minutes, there are multiple sunrises and sunsets within 24 hours.What watch then, should an astronaut wear? One Swiss maker has a new solution. Luxury brand IWC Schaffhausen’s latest watch – the Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive – is its first specifically designed and engineered for timekeeping in space.Unveiling at the world’s most high-profile watchmaking show – Watches and Wonders – in Geneva on Tuesday, it has received spaceflight qualification from the California-based space station developer Vast for use on Haven-1. This is expected to be the world’s first commercial space station on its planned launch next year.AdvertisementAn extreme environment demanded an innovative approach. The watch’s minimalist design does not have a crown (the small knob typically found at the three o’clock position that is used to wind a watch and set the time). This means “the watch cannot catch with any other elements in the space station or around your pressurized suit,” said Christian Knoop, IWC’s chief design officer.Instead, there is a system with a rotating bezel (a moveable ring around the dial) to control the functions. These include: additional winding of the automatic movement; setting the mission’s reference time (indicated by the central hour and minute hands on the matte black dial, plus another hand on an outer scale with the 24-hour format); moving the hour hand, if needed, to display a second time zone such as that of the astronaut’s home on Earth; and setting the date.The wearer uses a switch on the side of the case at the nine o’clock position to change between these functions.“The advantage of this system is that it can be operated with gloves,” said Knoop, who explained that many of the watches previously selected or qualified for space were designed for use on Earth.An extreme testing environmentFor watchmakers, creating a piece that can survive in space is a hefty engineering challenge. “Having watches that can perform so well in that environment makes them the toughest watches you can buy,” said Pa …
