Armor Gold is IWC’s own version of 18-carat rose gold, made to be harder and to wear better than ordinary gold. A complex production method changes the alloy’s internal structure. The result is tougher and more resistant to wear than standard 5N gold, yet it keeps the warm glow of ordinary red gold.
How is Armor Gold different from ordinary gold?
Many gold alloys with brand names are ordinary 18-carat gold under a new name. Armor Gold is different. It goes through a special hardening process that changes the internal structure of the metal. Three quarters of the metal is pure gold and the rest is other materials, so it still counts as 18-carat gold. When IWC launched it, the material was called ‘hard gold’. It was said to resist wear roughly five to ten times better than ordinary red gold.
Where it comes from
Armor Gold made its debut in the Big Pilot’s Watch Constant Force Tourbillon Edition ‘Le Petit Prince’, ref. 590303. This was IWC’s first watch made in the hard gold, which was presented as a new type of red gold. Monochrome described it as a new IWC gold alloy, much harder and more wear-resistant than standard 5N gold.
Which IWC watches use Armor Gold?
The Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon ‘Le Petit Prince’ has a 46.2 mm case and a large conical crown, both in 18-carat Armor Gold. The Portugieser Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph, limited to 100 pieces, uses it for the case, pushers and crown. The Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 pairs an Armor Gold case with a black Obsidian dial. That pairing of Armor Gold and Obsidian-coloured dials has become a recurring colour scheme on recent Portugieser models.
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