IWC Schaffhausen has both signed a strategic collaboration with and become the “Official Timekeeper” of Vast – a Long Beach, California based private corporation that is “building next-generation space stations.” It is an engineering collaboration that serves two purposes: to further improve the “durability and performance of mechanical watches on earth” and push horological boundaries in the unforgiving environment of outer space.
Image: Haven-1. (Header image: Illustration of Haven-1 in Earth orbit. Notice SpaceX’s Dragon capsule docked to it.) “Haven-1 is a state-of-the-art, human-centric space station, home to an innovation lab for both private astronauts and government missions. During Haven-1 missions, the crew can utilize the Haven-1 Lab to conduct scientific research, technology development, and in-space manufacturing that will benefit life on Earth and support long-term exploration of space.”
Vast is presently building Haven-1, the first ever commercial space station. Vast will soon launch Haven Demo – a test bed for “critical space station technologies” – to prepare for Haven 1’s launch slated for May 2026.
Left: Max Haot, CEO of Vast. Right. Chris Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen.
“Vast and IWC Schaffhausen both share a passion for innovation driven by scientific progress. With our mutual passion for bold invention in our respective industries, this collaboration will be a historic milestone in the evolution of spaceflight-ready timepieces. As Vast advances humanity’s presence in low-Earth orbit and unlocks a new era of scientific progress in space, we’re excited to collaborate with IWC on timepieces that capture this ethos of exploration and discovery.” – Max Haot, CEO of Vast.
Image: The IWC Schaffhausen manufacture. The next generation of the brand’s watches qualified for human spaceflight will be crafted here. (Image credit: Vast website.)
“Our collaboration with Vast is a natural evolution of our heritage in aviation, which began almost a century ago. 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.” – Chris Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen.
Our Thoughts
Image: “At Vast headquarters, Vast engineers will test prototypes to put the hardware through simulated launch vibration conditions and evaluate material compatibility with Haven-1. The prototypes will be evaluated and appropriately tested in a similar way to some of the hardware that will fly on Haven Demo and Haven-1 – a testament to the authenticity of IWC’s aerospace lineage.”
IWC is no stranger to space. They gained invaluable experience from the Inspiration4 (2021) and Polaris Dawn (2024) human spaceflight missions. Both were operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX on behalf of Jared Isaacman, a fintech entrepreneur and CEO of Shift4Payments. An experienced pilot and a commercial astronaut, he served as Mission Commander on both missions.
Image: IWC Schaffhausen is poised to be the next big name in watches for human spaceflight, just as Omega has been for decades. Corporations such as Vast are paving the way for commercial space exploration, a sector that was once dominated by government owned NASA (USA) and Roscosmos (USSR / Russia). Private space startups are now the norm across the world. Maybe the brand might add a new “Space Collection” to their range. (Image credit: Vast website.)
The brand’s collaboration with Vast will enable them to further innovate and develop the next generation of human spaceflight watches. As I wrote in my recent article on IWC. Curated., they are among the “hottest” watch brands in the world right now. In an industry dominated by lengthy waitlists and “bundling practises,” their watches are desirable, relatively affordable (mostly), and available. A watch from their Pilot’s Watch, Portugieser, and Ingenieur collections – is both an excellent way for beginners to start a collection, and for experienced collectors to add a versatile and exciting watch to their collections.
We look forward to the watches born from this exciting collaboration.
Please visit the IWC Schaffhausen website and Instagram page for more information. For those interested in all-things-space, please visit the Vast website to learn more about their space stations, especially the Haven-1 and Haven-2.
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