IWC Spitfire UTC

GMT & UTC. Until 1972, international time was referred to as GMT, short for Greenwich Mean Time. GMT refers to the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, designated for world time purposes as zero hour. The local time in different countries around the world was reflected as positive or negative offsets of GMT. For example, the time in Singapore is expressed as GMT +8 hours. Time is New York is GMT -5 hours. So when it is 12:oo noon in Greenwich it is 8:oo PM in Singapore and 7:00 AM in New York.

UTC, short for Coordinated Universal Time, is International Atomic Time with leap seconds added at irregular intervals to compensate for the Earth's slowing rotation. Leap seconds are used to are used to allow UTC to keep track of mean solar time.

Confused. Don't worry. In causal use, and everyday practical use, UTC is the same as GMT.


IWC Spitfire UTC. The IWC Spitfire UTC is a dual time watch which allows users to keep track of time in two different time zones. What most watch manufacturers refer to as their GMT watches, IWC refers to as their UTC watches. IWC, does things, a bit differently from everybody else.

One time zone is reflected in by the hour hand on the dial, while the second time zone (24 hour) is reflected in a small aperture or window which runs just above the 5 to 7 o'clock positions in the dial. The watch also has a date display at the 3 o'clock position. The 24 hour display is designed to be used for GMT/UTC or, alternatively as your home local time.

It works this way. When setting the watch, the 24 hour display in the window is set first, and than the main hour hand can be moved forwards or backwards in one hour steps. The date display corresponds to the time set in the 24 hour display.

For example if your watch is set to London time, and you land in Singapore at 8:00 PM London time, you will adjust the time by 8 one hour steps to set it to Singapore time (4:00 AM). The date displayed will be the date in London (for example April 27), although the date in Singapore is already April 28. The watch is designed this way so that it will keep the UTC/GMT date and time even as you adjust the main hour hand through different time zones.

Other specifications. The IWC Spitfire UTC is a mechanical self-winding watch which uses the IWC Calibre 30710 movement which is a modified ETA 2892 movement. This movement produces 28,800 vibrations per hour and has a 42 hour power reserve. The movement is encased in a soft iron casing to give it better anti-magnetic protection and the case has a water resistance rating of 60 meters. Sapphire crystal glass is used to protect the hands and dial.

The watch is available with a choice of a leather strap or stainless steel bracelet.

Why Spitfire? The IWC is named after the British Supermarine Spitfire fighter plane. Both the legendary Spitfire and the IWC line of pilots watches were launched in 1936.

About IWC. IWC or the the "International Watch Co. Schaffhausen" was founded by an American engineer from Boston, Florentine Ariosto Jones, in Schaffhausen, Switzerland in the year 1868. IWC Schaffhausen is notable for being the only major Swiss watch factory located in eastern Switzerland, as the majority of the well-known Swiss watch manufacturers are located in western Switzerland.