IWC Da Vinci Chronograph Steel — Blue Dial | Ref. IW393402

The Da Vinci collection has long occupied a distinctive position within the IWC family — intellectually ambitious, often associated with perpetual calendar and chronograph complications, and named for the Renaissance polymath whose notebooks anticipated centuries of mechanical invention. The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation edition in Ref. IW393402 adds philanthropic dimension to this heritage: limited to 1,500 pieces, it directs a portion of proceeds to sports programmes for disadvantaged youth, making the act of acquisition doubly purposeful.

Calibre 89361 is a flyback chronograph movement of considerable technical distinction. The flyback function — permitting a single push-piece operation to stop, reset, and restart the chronograph — was historically developed for the demanding timing requirements of military aviation and rally driving, where conventional multi-step reset sequences cost critical seconds. Within the Da Vinci's 42 mm stainless steel case, this movement delivers approximately 68 hours of power reserve, date display, and small subsidiary seconds, all visible beneath the arched-edge sapphire crystal that lends the case its characteristic architectural profile.

The blue dial — a colour that has achieved near-canonical status in contemporary watchmaking for its depth and versatility — is rendered with careful surface treatment, its tone shifting between slate and cobalt depending on incident light. A black Santoni alligator leather strap provides a tonal complement that draws the eye upward to the dial's blue field. At CHF 10,795 for a limited-edition flyback chronograph from IWC's most intellectually ambitious collection, Ref. IW393402 rewards the collector who values mechanical depth alongside social conscience.