An IWC Aquatimer 2000 pictorial review PIC! PIC!
These shots were taken last week and only these couple pictures made it out of a whole set of 50 attempts! The following are just some of my thoughts of the IWC Aquatimer 2000 after one month of ownership.
DIALThe design of the Aquatimer is simple and retains the classical appearance of the IWC’s previous dive watches: the Porsche Design 2000 and GST Aquatimer. The entire face of the watch exudes a geometric simplicity that makes it very easy to read and very pleasant to look at. The markers, minute hand and hour hand consist of rectangles and trapezoids with different proportions. The fluorescent yellow adds even more contrast to the dial, making it highly legible.
The dial actually has a deep graphite texture and colour. I am afraid I was unable to capture this in the photograph. I examined the dial with a under a 12x loupe without detecting a trace of flaw. The minute and second hands are also bent downwards toward the minute markers which is a nice touch of detailing.
BEZELThe internal bezel rotates crisply and securely. There is nothing flimsy about this intricate construction and the crown that rotates the bezel at 4 o’clock only allows counter clockwise rotations of the bezel. The bezel runs on jeweled click springs to ensure smooth, secure clicks. Further to the uni-directional rotation, the ratchet crown disengages from the bezel when a depth of approximately 5 meters is reached. This crown is also designed such that it can withstand 2000 meters of water pressure without the need to screw down. The gaskets in the crown are self sealing, it uses pressure as a means to secure itself further. The case, as you can see, retains the GST design of the past with the unique lugs and oversized crowns.
WHY THE HORRID LUMINOSITY ON THE AQUATIMER?I have not taken any lume shots yet because the one big folly of this watch is the fact that it has horrible luminous capabilities. I knew this before purchasing the watch so it is not a disappointing factor and I think that IWC opted for more uniform dial colours at the sacrifice of luminosity. As can be seen from the pictures, the entire dial consists of just 3 different colours: graphite, white and fluorescent yellow. The white on the dial is a very bright white and this colour is uniform between the markers, hour hand and dial printing. IWC probably opted to use more lacquer in the luminous paint mix to achieve this. On just about every other dive watch, the luminous compound is never as white as it is on the Aquatimer 2000. Here is a shot of my Rolex Submariner and although the luminous material is almost white, it is still slightly different from the dial printing. On the other hand, the luminosity of the Submariner is great, even with the slightly anemic minute hand. It is interesting to see how IWC and Rolex both achieved the same goal of designing highly robust and legible dive watches through very different means.
CASE, CRYSTAL, CROWNS AND COMFORTThe rubber strap is extremely pliable and comfortable. The unobtrusive crowns, lugs and the soft, ventilated rubber strap allow the Aquatimer to sit very comfortably on the wrist. The light weight of the titanium case material allows me to forget the fact that I am wearing the watch.
The blue colour is the effect of the anti-reflective material of both sides of the domed sapphire crystal. To ensure its resistance to high pressure, IWC endowed the Aquatimer 2000 with a 4.3 mm thick crystal.
The thickness and pronounced dome shape of the crystal is not readily apparent due to the anti-reflective material; however, when the dial is viewed at an angle, it becomes visible.
The titanium case of the Aquatimer goes through some sort of surface hardening process. A drawback of titanium is that it has a tendency to weld to each other when in contact over a long period of time. IWC had taken this into account and designed the case such that this would not happen.
The setting crown is of the normal screw down design. As with Rolex’s Triplock crowns, the winding stem is disengaged when the crown is depressed whilst securing the crown.
THE MOVEMENT AND WHAT LITTLE I KNOW ABOUT ITRunning within the watch is IWC’s caliber 30110. This is a recently updated movement from IWC which is based on the design of the ETA 2892. From what I have read, the only thing about this movement has in common with a regular ETA is its design. Just about every part of the movement is a proprietary IWC part. The balance runs at a higher amplitude than the average ETA 2892 (300 degrees for the IWC), the mainspring for the IWC has a much lower torque output due to the efficiency of the modified going train. This movement is different from its previous iteration because it is now nickel plated rather than gilt plated.
In terms of real world results, the Aquatimer is running 35 seconds fast after one month with a constant daily deviation of +1 second. This is one of the most accurate watches in my collection and its consistency is excellent. Furthermore, when winding the movement, I sometimes question whether crown stem is engaged because the winding action is so smooth and offers so little resistance. This is testament to how much IWC has modified the ETA design to produce an exceptional movement; after all, they have been doing this for some 25 years. Those old Porsche Design watches ticking away after so many years of use is proof of the longevity of these thoroughly re-worked movements.
CONCLUSIONI have not had the chance to go on a dive with this watch; however, the Aquatimer is a very attractive and comfortable watch. I have not stopped wearing this timepiece for the month since I received it and I foresee that I will be wearing this watch more often than many others in my collection. The classic IWC style layout of the watch, the fluorescent yellow accents and the unique internal bezel design distinguishes the Aquatimer whilst its low key design and simple dial layout makes it a very stealthy and elegantly simple timepiece. Being an IWC watch, the attributes of perfect quality, attention to detail and good craftsmanship is readily apparent.
SPECSCase Diameter: 42mm
Case Thickness: 14.5mm
Case Length: 49mm
Movement: IWC Calibre 30110
Crystal: 4.3mm thick, domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective on both sides.
Case material: Titanium with hardened surface.
Possible improvements:
1- I would prefer if the hands were also made of the same matte titanium material as the case, this would made the dial look even more interesting. Seiko’s new 1000m Professional diver uses matte titanium hands with great results.
2- Better lume!!!
3- Place IWC’s highly shock resistant caliber 80110 inhouse movement into this watch.
