Earlier this month, we have showcased the new Pilot’s Watch Chronograph « Antoine de Saint Exupéry » (Ref. IW377713), the first of the two special editions developed by Iwc Watches Portland Oregon Replica Schaffhausen to honour the French pilot and author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Today, we are going to show you the second special edition: the Pilot’s Watch Mark XVIII Edition “Antoine de Saint Exupéry” (Ref. IW327003).
This now model also features a tobacco brown dial and a brown calfskin strap with decorative white stitching, as well as an engraving of a Lightning P-38 on the case back. It was in this particular model of aircraft that Saint-Exupéry took off on a reconnaissance flight from which he never returned.
Montre d’Aviateur Mark XVIII Édition « Antoine de Saint Exupéry » © IWC Schaffhausen
It’s made to be a comparatively high-quantity-production automatic chronograph caliber with a 7750-like design but having a column wheel replacement the cam-actuation system being the most notable gap. Running frequency stays 4Hz, and power reserve is 46 hours so other specs are rather close to the famed workhorse chronograph caliber. Aesthetics-wise what is new about it compared to last year’s limited edition is the fact that it now has the enormous and consistently impressive IWC winding rotor with big cutouts and beveled edges as opposed to the rather underwhelming stamped bit that was current on the 2016 models. According to last year’s similar models expect the IWC Ingenieur Chronograph’s cost to start from around $7,200. The IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Sport is a titanium-clad, 44mm-wide alternative to the aforementioned triple-register sporting a more complicated IWC Caliber 89361. It delivers a more striking 68 hours of power reserve, a more innovative automatic winding system and the more complex screen of chronograph minutes and hours on a single sub-dial at 12 o’clock. A neat design detail is that the lightning seconds hand at six o’clock, place as a reminder of this Ingenieur emblem (and the fundamental moments of a Milgauss, perhaps). In this high-contrast, legible, but arguably not-so-sporty black and white, the IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Sport will be a limited run of 500 pieces — but we wouldn’t be amazed to see different versions come together sooner rather than later.
The watch comes in a 40mm stainless-steel case completed with a soft-iron inner case for protection against magnetic fields. It has a screwed crown, and a convex sapphire glass secured against displacement by drop in air pressure. Water resistant to 6 bars (60m), the watch houses the mechanical self-winding movement Calibre 35111, offering a 42-hour power reserve, the date at 3 o’clock and a central hacking second.
Special back engraving © IWC Schaffhausen