Top-quality Replica IWC with Double Chronograph

It seems to be good news that the materials innovation is looking like quite a thing in 2019, more aesthetic choices and better performance are available now. And it brings us to the great fake IWC’s new Top Gun Double Chronograph Ceratanium. 
What is the cranium? It’s a naturally matt-black finish, but not the same with PVD/DLC in one crucial respect: instead of a coating, it’s integral to the base material. It’s the item of five years of R&D within the replica IWC, and is made by first milling the parts (case, pushers, and crown) from a titanium alloy, then subjecting them to intense heat. The composition of the alloy triggers what IWC replica calls a “diffusion” process, which transforms the structure of the alloy’s surface into ceramic.
The result is a best-of-both worlds’ material – as light and unbreakable as titanium, and as hard and scratch-resistant as ceramic. Besides, being part of the material itself, the finish cannot chip or wear off as a coating might. To the eye, it looks deeply black, with neither sheen nor texture, but seems to absorb every last suggestion of light. The watch feels light yet very substantial in the hand.
Although Ceratanium isn’t absolutely new – it first appeared last year on a 50th anniversary-edition Aquatimer – this is the first time IWC has used its proprietary material in a Pilot’s replica Watch. And while black is emblematic of the Top Gun line, this new Ceratanium version is as black as the darkest hour.
Blackstrap, black case with a solid black back, black crown and pushers, black dial and sub-dials, even black wheels for the day and date windows. The hands are black and filled with a dark grey luminous material – as are the numerals. While not as instantly legible as its high-contrast white-on-black Top Gun siblings, it has a compelling, almost phantom presence.
Its physical presence is pretty commanding too – a chunky 44mm in diameter and 16.8mm thick. That’s due to IWC’s caliber 79230, a highly reliable and robust movement (modified Valjoux base with an in-house chronograph module) that has proved its worth over the course of 25 years. Double Chronograph is IWC-speak for split seconds or rattrapante chronograph (or even, if you prefer, Doppelchronograph), which the company brought into its line-up in the early 1990s. The complication allows the timing of two short events simultaneously by using the two seconds hands – with a maximum duration of 60 seconds.
By combining the best of various existing elements into a replica watch – classical Pilot’s watch iconography on the dial, a completely proven split-seconds chronograph movement, chunky tool-watch dimensions, and a very high-performance material – we have a cheap watch that is certainly greater than the sum of its parts.