IWC Schaffhausen and Vast Enter into a Strategic Collaboration

September 23, 2025

Schaffhausen, Switzerland / Long Beach, California

IWC Schaffhausen, the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer, becomes the “Official Timekeeper” of Vast, the pioneering space habitation technology company. The engineering collaboration aims to enhance the durability and performance of mechanical watches on Earth and push the boundaries of watchmaking to the harsh environment of space.

Vast is engineering and building the world’s first commercial space station, Haven-1. To prepare for it, Vast is soon launching Haven Demo, an in-orbit test bed for critical space station technologies. 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 and IWC Schaffhausen both share a passion for innovation driven by scientific progress,” says Max Haot, CEO of Vast. “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.”

“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,” explains Chris Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen.

Vast CEO Max Haot and IWC Schaffhausen CEO Chris Grainger-Herr

Through its presence onboard the Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn commercial human spaceflight missions, IWC has gained invaluable initial experience in the field of space exploration. This strategic engineering collaboration will enable IWC to continue to advance its innovations and develop spaceflight ready watches. At Vast headquarters, Vast engineers will test prototypes and put its hardware through simulated launch vibration conditions and evaluate material compatibility with Haven-1. The prototypes will be evaluated and appropriately tested similarly to some of the hardware that will fly on Haven Demo and Haven-1–a testament to the authenticity of IWC’s aerospace lineage.

This engineering collaboration marks Vast’s inaugural brand partnership and reflects the commercialization opportunity for low-Earth orbit.

About IWC Schaffhausen‍

IWC Schaffhausen is a leading Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen in the northeastern part of Switzerland. Founded in 1868 by the American watchmaker and engineer Florentine Ariosto Jones, IWC is known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, combining the best of human craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology and processes. Over its more than 150-year history, IWC has earned a reputation for creating professional instrument watches and functional complications, especially chronographs and calendars. A pioneer in the use of titanium and ceramics, IWC today specialises in highly engineered watch cases manufactured from advanced materials, such as coloured ceramics and Ceratanium®. Engineered by IWC, this material combines the lightness and structural integrity of titanium with a hardness and scratch-resistance similar to that of ceramic.

About Vast‍

‍Founded in 2021 by Jed McCaleb, Vast is developing humanity’s next-generation space stations and pioneering the path to long-term living and thriving in space. Haven-1, scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station, is currently in development and is expected to launch NET May 2026. Vast is also developing Haven-2, the proposed successor to the International Space Station (ISS), designed to serve NASA’s Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) program as a micro-gravity laboratory in space. Vast’s long-term ambition is to create artificial gravity habitations that enable humans to live in space, reaffirming its commitment to ensuring a spacefaring future for all.