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IWC’s 2025 Pilot’s Watch Performance Chronograph Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month, reference IW388801, pairs a tachymeter-bezel chronograph with a perpetual calendar that displays the date and month on large discs. It was announced on 1 April 2025 at Watches and Wonders Geneva. The all-black Ceratanium case and bracelet frame a textured dial, while the calendar’s gold-coloured discs make the date and month unusually prominent.
What is the IWC IW388801?
IW388801 is the exact reference for this 2025 addition to IWC’s Pilot’s Watch Performance Chronograph line. The long name matters: IWC also makes similarly named Performance Chronograph models, so the reference helps identify this specific version. IWC introduced it at Watches and Wonders Geneva on 1 April 2025. IWC’s launch announcement describes the watch as combining a chronograph with a four-disc perpetual calendar.
How does the digital perpetual calendar work?
The date and month appear on discs at 9 and 3 o’clock, and a leap-year indicator sits at 6 o’clock. IWC says the calendar accounts for different month lengths and adds the leap day every four years, so the date/month combination 29/02 appears once every four years. The calendar can be set with the crown; IWC’s launch release notes that the four-disc system requires no separate calendar controls.
According to IWC, a single-digit and tens advance wheel moves the date daily. The mechanism also accumulates energy for the end of a month or year, when more than one disc may need to move. The gold-coloured date and month discs are a modern visual cue inspired, IWC says, by its Pallweber pocket watches of the 1880s, which displayed hours and minutes digitally using single digits.
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- Model IW391031
How does the chronograph work?
The automatic calibre 89802 drives both the calendar and the chronograph. IWC combines stopped hours and minutes in a totaliser at 12 o’clock. The specification also lists flyback operation, stopped hours, minutes and seconds, and a small-seconds display with stop function. This layout gives the calendar’s large date and month discs space to dominate the lower and side portions of the dial without removing the chronograph’s elapsed-time readout.
Case, dial and dimensions
The case and bracelet are made from Ceratanium, IWC’s material based on a special titanium alloy. The company says machined parts are fired at high temperature, giving the material ceramic properties and a matte black finish. The bezel is polished black ceramic and carries a tachymeter scale; the black dial has a hammered texture. IWC describes Ceratanium as hard and scratch-resistant, but those are manufacturer claims rather than results of an independent comparative test.
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The Swiss product page lists a 43 mm case diameter and 16.5 mm height, with 10 bar water resistance, a screw-in crown and a sapphire display back. A 43 mm diameter places it in substantial-watch territory, and the 16.5 mm height is a relevant consideration for anyone who prefers a watch that sits close to the wrist. The display back shows the movement. IWC’s Swiss product page provides the official specification and market listing.
IWC IW388801 specifications
| Specification | IWC-listed detail |
|---|---|
| Reference | IW388801 |
| Case diameter | 43 mm |
| Case height | 16.5 mm |
| Case and bracelet | Ceratanium |
| Bezel | Black ceramic with tachymeter scale |
| Water resistance | 10 bar |
| Movement | IWC-manufactured calibre 89802, automatic |
| Power reserve | 68 hours |
| Frequency | 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz) |
| Components and jewels | 474 components; 51 jewels |
| Calendar | Perpetual calendar with digital date and month discs and leap-year display |
| Chronograph | Flyback; stopped hours, minutes and seconds |
These dimensions and movement figures are from IWC’s Swiss product page; IWC’s 2025 launch release also gives the 68-hour reserve and 474-component count.
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Price and market availability
IWC’s Swiss product page lists the IW388801 at CHF 80,000, inclusive of tax. That is a Switzerland-specific listing, not a universal price or a guarantee of the current price in another country. The official pages cited here do not establish pricing elsewhere, current inventory, or availability through third-party sellers; check with IWC for the relevant market and current status.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
