- IWC has announced a partnership with the space exploration company Vast.
- Effectively, IWC will become the “Official Timekeeper” for Vast missions as it looks to build Haven-1 (the world’s first commercial space station).
- While there’s no word yet of any product collaborations, 2026 could be the year IWC departs Earth for the first time.
IWC has always looked to push the boundaries with its collaborative partners, from supersonic jet companies to those who work on flying cars. But this year, the Schaffhausen-based watchmaker is literally taking things to the next level by partnering with space exploration company Vast.
The freshly-inked union will see IWC become the “Official Timekeeper” of Vast, which is currently focusing on its Haven-1 project – an upcoming commercial space station – and Haven Demo – an in-orbit testbed for preparing critical systems ahead of launch. While this isn’t exactly the first time IWC has ventured to the final frontier, having provided watches for the Inspiration4 mission, it’ll now look to prepare space-ready prototypes capable of enduring the same kind of punishment as Vast’s station hardware.
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Specifically, at Vast’s Long Beach headquarters, engineers will run simulated launch vibration profiles, assess material compatibility with Haven-1, and test components in line with the protocols used for equipment earmarked to fly on Haven Demo and Haven-1. For Vast, it’s a first-ever brand partnership and a clear signal of the commercial opportunity emerging in low-Earth orbit.
The brief is twofold: advance IWC’s innovation and capabilities in extreme environments, as well as feed any discoveries into the durability and performance of its production watches. Suffice it to say, the partnership is a natural fit for IWC, a manufacturer renowned for both professional instrument timepieces and advanced case materials.
“Our collaboration with Vast is a natural evolution of our heritage in aviation, which began almost a century ago, “explains Chris Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen. “We are excited to continue this journey as Vast’s Official Timekeeper and look forward to exploring new frontiers together.”
“This collaboration will enable IWC Schaffhausen to intensify its research and development efforts for watches that are tested for spaceflight. During future, long-duration space missions, a mechanical watch showing Earth time can also be the object that emotionally connects the astronauts to their home.”
While there’s no word yet on any commercially available timepieces that may result from the collaboration, it’s safe to say we’re pretty excited about what could come from IWC leaving the bounds of Earth’s atmosphere.
