Christoph Grainger-Herr, CEO of Swiss watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen, joined Haute Time for the latest edition of “Talking Time“, the industry-leading series of live webinars with the time world's leaders and legends.

When it comes to perpetual calendars does IWC has quite the reputation to uphold. It was mainly thanks to master watchmaker Kurt Klaus that this became one of the brand's signature complications. While we can especially credit the Da Vinci for achieving this in the first, putting the perpetual calendar in a 'Pilots'-watch, another thing IWC became famous for, only further enhanced its popularity. While a perpetual calendar is, in essence, a very classic complication, this gives it a contemporary edge.

The fact that Watches & Wonders was canceled this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic didn't stop IWC from going fully digital and launch a wide variety of new models in the Portugieser collection. Among them are a new perpetual calendar, the stunning Portugieser Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph, and a revamped Portugieser Yacht Timer with the innovative version among them moon phase and tide indicator. Haute Time talks with IWC CEO Christoph Grainger-Herr to hear his insights about the Portugieser and how to steer the company through these challenging times.

IWC has crowned 2020 as the year of the Portugieser, and that means that we can welcome lots and lots of new additions to this collection. Some are just revamped versions of old favorites, but many are also entirely new watches, some with innovative complications.

As a material, does bronze have an imposing history playing, especially an essential role from around 3300 till 600 BC. During this period, which is even named the Bronze age, was the alloy made from combining tin with copper. The advantage of bronze was that it is very malleable and also less brittle than, for example, cast iron, so perfect for making a great variety of different objects. As the material is very resistant to corrosion from seawater, it has also played a particularly important role in maritime history.

Whether auctions like Only Watch benefitting research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy or celebrities selling personal watches and donating proceeds to various charities, auctioning high-end timepieces for worthy causes is a common occurrence in the watch industry. Along with these high profile events, some brands also have charity-supporting timepieces as part of their catalog. From wildlife conservation to social change to health care, here are a few fantastic watches that support good causes.

While the tides of the current trends are flowing more into the direction of smaller sized watches, does this not mean that larger watches have become unavailable. Since the trend towards more substantial timepieces started, they have proven that they are here to stay. The following four watches show that size matters, especially when you want to make a big impression.

Picking a valentine watch for a woman seems to be substantially easier than selecting one for men. While women don't shy away from hearts, diamonds, and mother-of-pearl, around their wrist, finding tokens of love that men will wear is a bit more challenging. Here are a couple of suggestions that will not only perfectly express how you feel, but that are also too tempting for most men not to wear them!

There was a time when the perpetual calendar was a complication that could only be found in classic, gold cases, fitted with alligator leather straps. They were revered and treasured, yet only worn when the activities weren't too strenuous or potentially damaging to its complex movement. Times have changed, and today is a gold cased dress watch not automatically the timepiece of choice anymore for the rich and accomplished. In their active lives, they need a watch that can keep up with the pace, yet the fascination for the perpetual calendar hasn't dwindled. When the brands combined both, by putting that revered complication in a sportive watch, something magical happened as the following four watches prove.

It is sometimes mindboggling to realize how fast a year can fly by. Here we are on the threshold of not only a new year but also a new decade. As time is passing us so quickly, it is interesting to see its effect within an industry that is dedicated to making the passing of time not only visible but also measurable.

Hamilton collaborated with IWC Schaffhausen’s designers in creating the timepiece. The special design, of which there are only to 100 watches available, combines a black ceramic case and a Bordeaux-red dial with a crown and a case-back ring made of 18-carat 5N gold. The watch has a diameter of 46.5 millimeters. The textile strap is also colored in Bordeaux-red.

While ceramic is not a new material within watchmaking, it has become increasingly more popular in recent years. One explanation for this could be that materials other than stainless steel and precious metals are now far more accepted and even in demand within luxury watchmaking. Combined with the benefits that high tech ceramics are light in weight and very wear resistance, make it that they offer significant advantages over their metal counterparts. However, making a ceramic watch case is quite challenging as both its firing and cooling process can be somewhat challenging to predict and requires therefore quite some finesse.

Watches that can display more than one timezone remain popular. This is not so surprising as we not only travel more and more, but as the world becomes more interconnected, we also deal more frequently with people and businesses located in other parts of the world. Next to its practical use do watches that display more than one timezone often also have a dynamic look to them, one that almost entices you to go out and explore new worlds. The following four watches do just that, and are for us among the hottest GMT watches launched this year;

Trains, planes, automobiles—watches can take inspiration from all sorts of sources, especially other machines. Over and beyond being pilot watches, these timepieces also draw design cues from a range of aircraft. From Breitling to IWC to Zenith, we take a closer look at three luxury watches inspired by airplanes.

If there is one complication that, especially in recent years, has become very popular, it is the annual calendar. This is also for good reasons, as it offers nearly all the benefits of a perpetual calendar, with the only exception that you have to adjust the date at the end of February manually. As a result, an annual calendar doesn't have to know when it is a leap year, making it less complex to make, and therefore, it can also be offered at a lower price. While there are now many annual calendars on the market, one of the most beautiful is still the IWC Portugieser Annual Calendar.

From camouflage prints to combat boots to leather bomber jackets, military-style has long trickled into the civilian population where standard issued-gear is reinvented into fashionable must-haves. This is particularly true in the watch world as illustrated by the bevy of military-style luxury watches regularly released year after year.