IWC Schaffhausen Seals Historic Deal with Vast for the Future of Space Timekeeping

Swiss watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen has stepped into a frontier that only a handful of companies dare to enter. The brand has announced a world-first partnership with aerospace company Vast, the creators of Haven One, the first commercial space station. The launch, which could take place as early as 2026, represents more than just another milestone in exploration. It is a moment where craftsmanship and cosmic ambition collide.

For IWC, this is not an entirely foreign venture. The company has been pushing boundaries in aviation for almost a century and its watches have already made nine journeys into space. Yet this collaboration signals something far more ambitious. The aim is not only to test the durability of mechanical watches here on Earth but to prove their reliability in one of the most unforgiving environments imaginable.

Vast is writing a new chapter in human spaceflight. While the International Space Station edges closer to retirement, Vast has taken a bold step forward by creating a station designed, built and operated entirely by a private company. Chief executive Max Haot has been clear that this is no futuristic dream but a project already in motion. The designs are real, the builds are underway and the mission is to deliver the most innovative space station in existence.

IWC is matching that ambition by developing experimental timekeeping technology intended specifically for space. These prototypes will undergo the same testing as hardware destined for Vast missions including the upcoming Haven Demo and the larger Haven One. For IWC chief executive Chris Grainger Herr the challenge is as much about emotion as engineering. A mechanical watch, he explained, will not only provide Earth time during long missions but also act as a reminder of home, a physical link to life below the orbit.

Before Haven One is ready to welcome its first crew, Vast will launch Haven Demo later this year. This in-orbit testbed is the critical first step toward permanent private habitats in space. Haven One itself will host up to four astronauts for thirty-day missions, giving them access to the Haven One Lab, a space dedicated to scientific research, technology development and manufacturing. The work conducted here is expected to feed directly back into life on Earth while also supporting future journeys deeper into the cosmos.

Haot has emphasised the central role of time in training and operating in space. For him, the chance to collaborate with a company like IWC represents more than a business deal. Both organisations share an obsession with precision and design, he explained, and both are committed to making the complex feel intuitive. That combination of technical excellence and human touch is what makes this partnership so compelling.

This is more than a collaboration between watchmaker and aerospace innovator. It is a fusion of design, engineering and ambition, a statement of intent that humanity is preparing to live differently, not just on Earth but beyond it. The beginning of a new era in timekeeping is now tied to the beginning of a new era in space.