IWC Partners With American Company Vast

IWC joins the community of brands taking a closer interest in space. On Wednesday, the watchmaker, which has already been well established in the space industry for several years, announced that it would become the “official timekeeper” for Vast, a pioneer in the field of space habitation technologies.

This collaboration also aims to improve the durability and performance of mechanical watches on Earth by pushing the boundaries of watchmaking in space. It will enable the Richemont Group brand to intensify its research and development efforts in watches that are tested during space flights. A watch that shows the time on Earth would be a way to “emotionally connect astronauts to their home” during future long-duration space missions, explained Chris Grainger-Herr, CEO of the brand, in a press release.

The American private company Vast, founded in 2021 by entrepreneur Jed McCaleb, is designing and building the world's first commercial space station, Haven-1, which houses an innovation laboratory for both private astronauts and government missions. In preparation, it will soon launch Haven Demo, an in-orbit test bed to test its latest technological advances.

“Vast and IWC Schaffhausen both share a passion for innovation driven by scientific progress,” said Max Haot, CEO of Vast. This collaboration would mark a “historic” milestone in the evolution of watches designed for space flight.

IWC, whose heritage in aviation began nearly a century ago, has always been closely linked to the world of space. In 2021, it supported Inspiration4, the first civilian space mission, by creating a series of four pilot's watches used during the orbital flight. In 2024, it supported the Polaris Dawn commercial space mission by providing watches for the entire crew. Shortly afterwards, this collaboration led to space training being offered to Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1 driver and former ambassador for the brand. It is also associated with Professor Brian Cox, physicist and television presenter, who, together with renowned composer Hans Zimmer, created music inspired by the new Portugieser collection launched last year.

Yesterday, NASA reaffirmed that its next manned mission to the Moon (Artemis 2) will take place in early 2026, a mission that should open up new opportunities for luxury in the midst of the “space race.”