Highly Motivated

by Gary Girdvainis

Landing in Guyaquil, Ecuador, I reflected back on the various corners of the world that IWC has chosen to launch new lines. Almost five years ago I was suiting-up in the Red Sea, preparing to scuba with the renowned Cousteau divers at the launch of the updated Aquatimer divers’ watches. And, although rarely star struck, I must admit to a certain degree of awe in the presence of the Cousteau research vessel Alcyone—and the Cousteau team of divers. After all, I had grown-up watching the silver-suited divers of “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau” every Sunday night. Meeting and diving with them—in Soma Bay on the Red Sea in Egypt of all places—seemed almost dream-like. 
I was wondering how IWC and its CEO Georges Kern could top that event or exceed the other adventures it has hosted since that time.

Worth the wait
Enter the Galapagos. The formal event for the North American press to herald the latest version of the IWC Aquatimer was postponed due to the H1N1 flu outbreak, but was well worth the wait.
The watches were on parade and on our wrists for a few days so we could experience the product. But I must admit the watches, which, by all standards are excellent in design and execution, did take a temporary back seat to the stage on which they, and we, were set. We were in the Galapagos, spending time on the islands and in the water with the experts at the Darwin foundation and given an opportunity to meet the great-grandson of Charles Darwin.
The events highlight IWC’s active and ongoing commitment to environmental awareness that Kern has nurtured in his five-plus years at the helm of the brand. Past and current IWC environmental patronage includes the Cousteau Society, the Plasticki expedition (testing now for a springtime launch) as well as becoming a Carbon Neutral facility at its Schaffhausen headquarters.
IWCs partnership with the Darwin foundation is scheduled to last from three to five years. IWC’s monetary commitment is substantial and will go well into seven figures through the course of the sponsorship. 
IWC’s patronage will make a major difference and provide valuable resources to assist the various research, restoration, preservation, and reclamation efforts on one of the last remote wilderness sites in the world. Anyone wishing to learn more—or even donate to a very worthy cause can go to www.darwinfoundation.org

The watches
The new Aquatimer Deep Two takes a page from IWC’s past. Longtime fans of the brand may remember the launch of the Aquatimer GST about ten years ago. That watch featured a mechanical depth gauge and was attractive from a purely aesthetic point of view with yellow accents on black. However, the original GST did suffer some drawbacks in the engineering and was acceptable—but not quite exceptional—in the utility of its design. 
It housed an undersized ladies mechanical movement in order to accommodate the space for the depth-gauge mechanism and the extra crown that allowed the water pressure to actuate the system called for an air-purge (with supplied air pump device) after each use. It was inconvenient at the very least.  
Fast-forward ten years to the Aquatimer Deep Two and we discover a new depth gauge system that is both easy to read and does away with the extra maintenance protocols needed for the 1999-era GST.
The updated Aquatimer sits at the top of the Aquatimer line in engineering and design—if not cost (for the Rose Gold Aquatimer Chronograph). It also features a clean dial display and allows for easy reference of either depth or time without any chance of confusing the two. A blue hand visible on the perimeter of the dial shows the current depth, in meters from 0 to 50, on an inner scale that runs along the left side of the dial. A red hand indicates and stays at the maximum depth achieved. To reset the max-depth indicator, simply use the extra pusher directly under the depth-sensor crown.
All in all, the new Aquatimer is a great improvement over the previous incarnation.