The Finest Watches

IWC Pilot's Watches

In the early days of aviation, pilots used to navigate with the help of pocket watches, because wristwatches specially designed for flying did not yet exist. The first “Special Pilot’s Watch”, built by IWC in 1936, came with a rugged glass, a rotating bezel with an arrowhead index for instantaneous legibility and an antimagnetic escapement, together with high-contrast, luminescent hands and numerals. From 1940, IWC started producing the 52 T. S. C. Big Pilot’s Watch in accordance with military specifications. It featured an original pocket watch movement and large seconds hand. With a case diameter of 55 millimetres and weighing 183 grammes, the largest wristwatch ever built by IWC delivered the precision required of a chronometer and satisfied the special requirements that applied to navigation or deck watches. In 1988, the Pilot’s Watch tradition was sustained by the Pilot’s Chronograph. This was followed in 1992 by the Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph with a split-seconds mechanism and automatic winding. In 1994 the Mark XII Pilot’s Watch succeeded the Mark 11. As was to be expected, it was a state-of-the-art timepiece featuring an automatic movement and date display. In 1998 the Pilot’s Watch UTC, where changes to both the time and date can be made using simply the crown, was IWC’s reaction to growing mobility in an increasingly globalised world. A year later, the new Mark XV emerged as clear winner of a stiff airworthiness test against ten of the best pilot’s watches available. In 2002, IWC revived the Big Pilot’s Watch tradition and launched a new version with a seven-day movement and power reserve display.