IWC’s Pilot’s Watch Gets a Big Update for the Brand’s 150th Anniversary
IWC has introduced three new limited-edition timepieces to its iconic Pilot’s Watch line to celebrate its 150th year in business, but the premiere piece that collectors will want to get their hands on is the Big Pilot’s Watch Big Date Edition “150 Years” timepiece ($13,800) which boasts a new caliber. It is the first Big Pilot watch with an in-house big date complication—a big deal when you consider this is one of the premiere product lines for the watchmaker and that it comes at a, relatively, approachable price.
The Big Pilot became a flagship model for the brand when it was re-released in 2002, but its place in the watchmaker’s history dates back to 1940. The new Big Pilot Big Date Edition is nearly the spitting image of the original—strap, crown, dial, and all—save for the addition of the big date complication and a small seconds counter instead of a central seconds hand. The original Big Pilot was a massive watch at 55 mm for visibility during flight and its 2018 Annual Calendar Edition still gargantuan at 46 mm—in other words, not for the slight of wrist.
The modern Caliber 59235, features the big date display located beneath the triangular index at 12 o’clock and is a hand-wound movement with a whopping power reserve of 192 hours indicated through a power reserve display on the reverse side, visible through the caseback. The timepiece is currently available and comes in stainless steel with a blue lacquer-finished dial and rhodium-plated hands and in stainless steel with a white lacquer-finished dial with blued hands. Both versions are limited to just 100 pieces each.
A Pilots Chronograph Edition “150 Years” limited to 1,000 pieces and a Big Pilot’s Watch Annual Calendar Edition “150 Years” limited to 100 pieces are also available now.
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