Take a closer look at the Pilot’s watch from IWC.
Did you know the larger than usual crown on the side of the pilots watch dates back to the early days of aviation when pilots wore thick gloves and padded flight suits, due the temperatures in the cockpit, and still needed to be able to grasp the button. IWC has taken this detail and kept it, all through their editions.
The design of the dial is clear and with bright luminescent to stand out in low light - again referring back to the cockpits.
The triangular index at 12 0’clock makes it easy to recognise the position of the hands at a glance - even if you and your plane are upside down.
The very first IWC Pilot was produced in the mid 1930s, it was robust and capable of handling the fluctuating temperature of the civil aviation cockpit. It was a design classic and would not look out of place on your wrist today.
In 1948 IWC was commissioned to create a service watch for the pilots of the Royal Air Force, by 1949 the watch was also supplied to all airborne personnel of the RAF and Commonwealth until 1981.
In the mid 1990s IWC created a ceramic version, to mark the jet age of aviation.
In 2000 The Spitfire Limited edition was launched, limited to 1000 watches.
There is much demand and interest in the various Pilot's Watch Special Editions.
The limited edition from 2006, introduced to commemorate the novel ‘Night Flight’ 75 years earlier, was the Antoine De Saint Exupery Chronograph. This is one of the most poplar and sort after limited editions.
When the 80th anniversary of IWC Pilot’s watches arrived in 2016, the Mark XVIII Le Petit Prince with midnight blue dial was released.
2016 was also the year the Timezoner was released. Made for frequent flyers, it has a timezone bezel, easily altered to wherever you are in the world, changing the date and time at once.
Notably in 2019 the special Bronze Spitfire Edition MJ271, shown below, came out.
Watch Buyers has a IWC Pilot's Watch Chronograph Edition “Le Petit Prince” in stock at the time of writing. You can see all the details about it here.
