The material is nice, it feels slightly different than ceramic, but not by much. Though I suspect it will deal with hits better than ceramic.
That said I went for the earlier ceramic version, in spite of size, because the monochrome was a bit flat for me. Great design on the case, but the printing and lack of accents made it feel more like a prototype. That is all a matter of taste. Surely for the right person it would be a fit.
The movement needed adjustment at the start, but once IWC tuned it up, the watch has worked well. 