99

This year, IWC launched 41mm time-only versions of their Lake Tahoe and Mojave Desert Pilot’s Watch TOP GUN editions. In a slimmer case size, but still with the looks and feel of the bigger chronograph siblings, we had to test them out!

First Impressions

When I first saw the white Lake Tahoe Pilot’s Watch 41 Top Gun earlier this year, I was keen to get both it and the Mojave Desert model to compare them properly. My initial impression? They’re essentially the same watch, just in different colourways, with the Mojave on a fabric-inlaid rubber strap and the Lake Tahoe on straight rubber. But sometimes, that slight aesthetic difference makes all the impact, as I was to find out!

The Lake Tahoe feels fresh and bold. With its all-white case and strap against a black dial, it jumps off the wrist. The Mojave Desert, with its sand-coloured case, strap, and matching indices on a grey dial, is far more subdued. It blends in depending on skin tone or clothing — but that’s part of its charm. It’s a watch that, pardon the pun, flies under the radar.

The ceramic case and rubber straps make both watches surprisingly light and comfortable. After wearing them for a week and a half, rotating them depending on outfit and mood, I’ve realised that while they’re technically the same watch, the difference in colourway completely changes how each feels on the wrist. This means that it simply isn’t an easy decision when it comes to the IWC Pilot’s Watch 41mm Top Gun editions.

The Design

The IWC Pilot’s Watch 41 Colours of Top Gun range pays tribute to the Top Gun program, immortalised in 1986 by Tom Cruise and Jerry Bruckheimer, and reignited decades later by Top Gun: Maverick. IWC has long tied its pilot’s watches to this program, and after launching the chronographs in Woodland, Lake Tahoe, Mojave Desert, black ceramic, and Ceratanium, it was inevitable that the time-only 41 mm models would follow. And they do not disappoint.

Now, you can’t talk about the Colours of Top Gun without talking about Pantone, which has collaborated with IWC to bring to life the Colours of Top Gun through its unique system. Via Pantone’s vast colour matching system, it was able to bring to life the colours that represented areas and translate real-life inspiration into each of the colours – the crisp white that emulated the colour of Lake Tahoe in winter, the sands of the Mojave Desert or the green fir forests and flight suits found in the Woodland editions.

The 41 mm case and time-only format give the watches clean, uncluttered dials — a big advantage over the larger, busier 44mm chronographs. Legibility is crucial in a pilot’s watch, and here the Lake Tahoe excels. Its bright white indices and hands pop against the matte black dial. The Mojave is more subtle, its beige hands and indices blending into the dial. At a glance, it’s less legible, but its desert-camouflage aesthetic is striking in its own way.

If I had one criticism, it’s lume performance. IWC’s Super-LumiNova fades after a few hours, which isn’t unusual but still slightly underwhelming. It’s unlikely to matter unless you’re in a tactical situation at 3 AM — but still, a higher grade would have been welcome. Now, my experience, many brands actually don’t use a high grade of Super-LumiNova most probably because of the cost, but it does make a big difference if you wake up at 3 AM in the morning and you try and read the time.

The straps have also been designed pretty well on these watches as they are fairly thick and robust, but they’re actually quite soft, so they strap onto your wrist pretty easily from the get-go. Effectively, both the Lake Tahoe and the Mojave Desert straps are similar in terms of the way they are designed.

The only real difference is that the Mojave Desert has that fabric inlay on the outer of the strap to make it more military-like like whereas the Lake Tahoe does not. Either style works. The Lake Tahoe allows you to keep it fresh, whereas the Mojave Desert evokes that more military style combat watch.

How It Wears

The Pilot’s Watch 41 Colours of Top Gun is effortless on the wrist. At 41 mm in ceramic on rubber, it’s light and tough, and with 100m of water resistance, it means you have a sports watch through and through. The Lake Tahoe feels like a summer piece — bright, fun, and perfect by the pool or beach. The Mojave, by contrast, is understated and works as a daily casual watch that doesn’t scream for attention. Depending on what mood you are in, or what you are wearing, you can pair fairly easily thanks to the neutral colours.

The other fact around how this watch will wear on your wrist will probably be determined by not just the size of your wrist, but also the shape as well. My wrists are a little bit more oval and they are slightly flatter on the top, so they seem to wear pretty well. However, I would say that the lugs could possibly taper down slightly more at the base of the case, just to give it that slightly better fit. This really didn’t make much of a difference to how I felt wearing the watch, so again it’s all about your wrist size and shape that will affect how this piece will wear and being a 41 mm it should fit and suit most wrist sizes.

The pin-buckle straps fit easily, though the spacing of the holes may force you to choose between slightly tight or slightly loose. I went a little on the loose side, and thanks to the grip of the rubber’s textured underside, the watch stayed put. Fit will depend on wrist shape as much as size. My oval, slightly flat wrist handled the case well, though I think the lugs could taper a touch more for a neater fit. That said, 41 mm is a versatile size that should suit most wrists.

The anti-reflective coating is effective, though its bluish tint can complicate photography — something I noticed as a watch photographer. It’s less noticeable outdoors in direct sunlight and more so under indoor lighting, but never an issue in daily wear. In terms of ageing, the Mojave may fare better. The sand coloured ceramic and strap should wear in gracefully, while the Lake Tahoe’s white rubber might pick up dirt over time. Still, it should clean easily enough to restore its fresh look.

The Movement

Both the Lake Tahoe and Mojave Desert are powered by IWC’s in-house calibre 32112, made in Schaffhausen. It delivers an impressive 120-hour (five-day) power reserve — a cut above the 72-hour standard many brands aim for.

Many brands these days are now using a 72-hour or three-day power reserve as the minimum standard, and yes, I realise there are so many brands that haven’t even got that in some of their movements, whereas IWC have decided to go that one step further with these new time-only movements and deliver a 120-hour or five days worth of power – a big tick in my books.

This long reserve makes the watches practical. They’re not pieces you’ll wear every day in all settings — not exactly suited to an office suit-and-tie environment — but they shine for weekends, travel, or casual wear. You can put the watch on Friday, take it off Sunday, and it’ll still be ticking when you reach for it the following week. For those of us who don’t dress formally for work, it’s even better: you can rotate it in and out every few days without worrying about winding.

Outside of the power reserve, the Calibre 32112 beats away at 4Hz / 28,800 VpH, comprises 165 components and pivots on 21 jewels. Being a five-day power reserve and an automatic makes these perfect weekend warriors.

Final Thoughts

I’ve been wearing these pieces now for a little over a week and a half, and I’ve actually thoroughly enjoyed wearing them. They are very different watches from what I own and would normally wear. I have gone back and forth on which one I actually like better, but I’ll say I probably wore the Lake Tahoe model more than the Mojave Desert model. The weather is starting to warm up where we live in Queensland, so that means having a fresh white summer-feeling watch on my wrist seems to feel appropriate.

Also, my skin cone means that the Pilot’s Watch Lake Tahoe stands out of my wrist and is visually quite cool to look at, whereas the Mojave Desert blends into my wrist a little more, which is fine if I’m wearing a certain style of jacket. The Mojave Desert has those Military style cues, thanks to its colour scheme and stitched fabric inlay on the rubber strap. So, depending on the mood you’re in, maybe your personality type, you may gravitate towards either a more funky, fresh vibe or a more subdued military style vibe. In an ideal world, you might pick both!

Style aside, both these watches have actually been quite fun to wear on the wrist and have been very easy to wear too, thanks to their lightweight nature. They are also ceramic watches, so you don’t have to really worry about babying them too much, as ceramic is very hard to scratch. Couple that with the rubber strap, and you have a watch that you can really get out and about with and not have to worry about it at all. The visibility on the Pilot’s Watch 41 Lake Tahoe is exceptional, especially in the daytime, whereas the Mojave Desert is not as easy to read due to the lack of contrast on the dial. As I said, I would like a little bit more lume on the dial and the hands, but it’s not something that’s going to deter me from buying this watch, should I be in the market.

So as my time comes to an end with the IWC Pilot’s Watch 41 TOP GUN Lake Tahoe and Mojave Desert, I find myself thinking, could I add one of these to my collection? The answer is quite possibly, but my next question is which one? I have to say I quite like the idea of having a white watch on my wrist, especially coming into the summer months, but it’s also got me thinking, is time only enough, or do you go all out and get the chronograph version of this? Both have their merits, but are also different watches in their own right, wearing differently with different looks. A question to ponder on my future travels for sure!

References: IW328104 – Lake Tahoe / IW328106 – Mojave Desert

• Dimensions: 41 mm x 11.4 mm thick x 51.8 mm lug-to-lug
• Case: White or sand coloured scratch resistant ceramic case, soft-iron inner case for magnetic resistance
• Dial: Matte black (Lake Tahoe) / Grey (Mojave Desert) with colour-matched date wheel
• Hands & indices: White with Super-LumiNova (Lake Tahoe) / Beige with Super-LumiNova (Mojave Desert)
• Crystal: Sapphire, convex with double AR coating
• Movement: IWC-manufactured Calibre 32112, beating at 28,800 VpH (4 Hz), pivoting on 21 jewels
• Power reserve: 120 hours (5 days)
• Functions: Hours, minutes, central seconds, date
• Water resistance: 100 m
• Strap: Rubber strap with pin buckle (fabric inlay on Mojave Desert)

Australian Retail Price: A$14,000 each

Availability: Available from IWC Boutiques, or online via IWC.com

Full Image Gallery