During Sotheby’s sale of Important Watches on 12 November 2017, IWC will offer a special edition of its Big Pilot’s Watch Annual Calendar Edition “Le Petit Prince”(Reference IW502705, Lot 183). A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the watch will benefit the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation, whose charitable work is dedicated to supporting young people and children in need all over the world.
This wristwatch in 18-carat white gold is a homage to author and pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Its timeless design brings together the poetry and much-loved narrative of The Little Prince, with technical features demonstrating IWC Schaffhausen’s exacting standards in precision watchmaking.
This timepiece features a midnight blue dial with rhodium-plated luminous hands, inspired by the glowing dials of cockpit instruments. Located at “12 o’clock” on the dial, IWC’s annual calendar shows the month, date and day in three separate windows. Its complex mechanism takes into account the differing lengths of different months, with the exception of February; once a year in March, it requires a simple manual correction using the crown.
Starting with the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Heritage, the newest piece is fairly similar to previous major Pilot’s Watches with the exclusion of case material, which can be currently either ceramic or bronze, and the inclusion of the very striking IWC 52110 in-house manufacture caliber. IWC’s automatic winding 52110 includes a staggering 168 hour (seven day) power reserve, Côtes de Genève and perlage completing, and 31 jewels, all ticking along at 28,800 vibrations per hour (4Hz) interior of a soft iron inner case to resist magnetic fields found in aviation environments. The standard Big Pilot’s 51111 quality features more jewels at 42 but beats at a significantly slower 21,600 vibrations per hour (3Hz). Otherwise, the 46.2millimeter case, touch crown, and classic inspired leather strap stay similar in fashion to previous major Pilot’s. For those who have more regular wrists and bank accounts, IWC have also generated the Mark XVIII in a particular Heritage edition. The new IWC Pilot’s Mark XVIII Heritage keeps the aviation fashion dial and hands in addition to the small 40mm case dimensions from previous versions. New is using titanium as a case material which lends the piece a utilitarian feel in addition to a considerably lighter overall weight reduction. The addition of IWC’s 35111 caliber also distinguishes this new model from it’s forebears and although it isn’t a totally in-house grade like those in the Heritage Big Pilot’s, it’s still a competent 25-jewel motion dependent on the Sellita SW300 instead of the 21-jewel, ETA 2892 base motion located in the normal IWC Mark XVIII. A slightly less impressive caliber like the 35111 with a more approachable 42-hour power book also helps to maintain the cost somewhat fair.
Big Pilot’s Watch Annual Calendar Edition © IWC
The striking conical crown of the Pilot’s Watch harks back to the pioneering days of aviation, when pilots had to face the elements in unheated cockpits. The large size of the crown allowed pilots to set and wind their watch even when wearing thick gloves and a padded flight suit.
The case back of the watch in sapphire glass reveals IWC’s sophisticated and innovative blue movement, which took IWC nearly two years to perfect. The Little Prince of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s is shown gazing into the sky from his tiny planet. The planet in its entirety forms the rotor and revolves around its axis. Also made of 18-carat gold, the rotor is decorated with detail of blue flowers, inspired by the original illustrations in The Little Prince.
I said that this variant had a surprisingly mild premium within the non-limited model. Special version watches often cost considerably more than their standard siblings, many times with no other motive than that it is labeled a special edition and maybe has a different dial colour – and also for some assumed “exclusivity.” This can be very frustrating for watch collectors. This makes it increasingly appealing for the collector who appreciates the Ingenieur line but wants something different and less common compared to the normal offerings – and at a year where we’ve seen “limited edition” runs of 2,012 or 6,000 pieces, 250 pieces makes it feel more “uncommon” indeed. Picture this: in 2016, you felt inclined to purchase one of those strictly limited-edition-only Iwc Watches Resale Value Replica Ingenieur watches, thinking it’s a one-time opportunity to find a new-old take on the Ingenieur… Well, worry not for those who have not, because IWC today is launching basically the same watch with a couple fundamental aesthetic tweaks along with three entirely new versions – a time-only, two chronograph versions, plus a chronograph perpetual calendar – in what’s presently a new IWC Ingenieur collection.As a beginner as well as the entry-level version, we have exactly the IWC Ingenieur Automatic 40 as seen previously, with references IW357001, IW357002, and IW357003 starting at just under $5,000 and moving up from there as you upgrade for a steel bracelet or a solid 18k red gold case. Inspired by the IWC Ingenieur reference 666, the very first Ingenieur that dates back to 1955, the silver dial version on black leather looks closest to its predecessor.
Case back view © IWC