In 1946, US World War II hero and Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz created the idea of forming a flight demonstration squadron to show off the skill and expertise of naval airmanship. His vision was realized by the Blue Angels® team, also known as the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron. It is built of 140 sailors and marines. The Blue Angels perform to over 11 million spectators each year.
Over the years the Blue Angels have performed in a variety of aircraft including the F6 Hellcat, the F8 Bearcat, the F9 Panther, the F9 Couger, F-11 Tiger, the F-4 Phantom, A-4 Skyhawk, F/A-18 Hornet, and now the F/A-18 Super Hornet. Early demonstrations in the 1960’s showed their skills flying with a 6 plane formation with a variety of aerobatic maneuvers which are still performed today.
The Blue Angel aircraft are painted in the official U.S. Navy colors of Blue and Gold. 2021 marks the 75th Anniversary of the Blue Angels. The Blue Angels inspire pride and excellence of the US Navy and Marine Corps.
IWC Blue Angels
IWC became an official licensee of the Department of the Navy in 2019. Since then, the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer has collaborated with the Navy to design two special edition chronographs. The Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition “Blue Angels®” (Ref. IW389008) in black zirconium oxide ceramic marked the beginning of the licence agreement.
To celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the “Blue Angels®”, IWC has just released the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition “Blue Angels®” (Ref. IW389109) with a case made of stunning blue ceramic.
The 75th Anniversary IWC Blue Angels Reference IW389109 is a gorgeous timepiece with a blue case, blue dial and 21mm blue rubber strap with textile inlay. There are touches of gold with the Gold logo at the 6 o’clock position, the date aperture at 3 o’clock, the seconds hand and also in the pushers at 2 and 4 o’clock.
The hour markers and hands have a contrasting white against the blue and a luminescence that provides visibility in the dark. The ceramic dial for the timepiece is 44.5 mm wide and 15.7 mm high.
The reference IW389109 has tremendous features. It has a chronograph function with a 30 minute counter at 12 o’clock and a 12 hour counter at 9 o’clock. It has a hacking seconds capability and a tremendous day and date display at 3 o’clock.
The IWC manufactured caliber 69380 beats at a frequency of 28800 vph. It has 33 jewels and 231 components. The automatic self winding mechanism has a 46 hour power reserve. The case is built to protect against magnetic fields. The sapphire glass is convex and provides visibility and protection against sudden drops in air pressure, perfect for pilots.
The timepiece has 6 bar of water resistance. On the back side of the timepiece it has a picture of 4 Blue Angels plus the name Blue Angels is engraved across it. Only 500 pieces are produced annually keeping the demand high for this timepiece. It is priced at only 10,900.
The original IWC Blue Angels Reference IW389008 has significant differences to the 75th edition timepiece. The 44.5 mm case is a black zirconium oxide ceramic with a 15.5 mm height. The dial is a darker blue, and the blue band is also a darker shade of blue and is a leather band rather than one made from rubber. It has touches of orange in the inner dial.
The reference IW389008 has a great small seconds dial at the 6 o’clock position and both a 60 minute and 12 hour dial at the 12 o’clock position with both dials embedded in the same dial. The date aperture doesn’t have the day of the week showing, just the day of the month.
Probably the biggest difference is the hour markers. Although they are luminescent along with the hour, minute and seconds hands, the hour markers use 5-60 gradiations rather than the standard 1-12 markings around the dial as it shows in the Reference IW389109
The reference IW389008 is powered by an IWC 89361 caliber movement. It has a 68 hour power reserve. It is made with 299 components and 38 jewels.
Rubber B has an extensive selection of bands for IWC Timepieces. All these bands are made of the highest quality and are custom designed to fit the IWC case. Every Rubber B band is made from pure vulcanized rubber. Each band is made of the highest standards in Switzerland. For more information about IWC bands, click here.
