4,095 articles · 577 videos found · page 11 of 156
Revolution
IWC has introduced eye-catching variations of the Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar, two new colorways for the Pilot Chronograph, and a Top Gun Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar special edition.
Time+Tide
Editor’s note: While the Pilot might be IWC’s hero of the hour, the equally large but more classically inspired Portugieser is an equally important line. Felix finds out why … There’s a good reason the Portugieser collection is one of IWC’s most popular (in Australia at least). It’s a big, commanding watch that nevertheless possesses … ContinuedThe post Explaining a legend – the history of the IWC Portugieser appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Fratello
Four IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition “Polaris Dawn” models in white ceramic with space-blue dials are back on Earth. Along with their wearers, they launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 05:23 EDT on September 10th, 2024. The four members of the crew and their watches safely splashed down off the coast of […] Visit Four IWC Watches And Their Wearers Return Safely From Space to read the full article.
Revolution
Introduced in 2014, the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition “Le Petit Prince” is one of IWC’s famous tributes to French writer-philosopher-aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s book of the same name.
Time+Tide
A new collection of perpetual calendars from IWC marries its mastery of the pilot's watch with crown-set QPs.The post The New IWC ProSet Brings Practicality to the Perpetual Calendar appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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Monochrome
A watch packed with history and pivotal in Oris’ destiny, the Big Crown Pointer Date saw the light in 1938. As the brand’s first dedicated pilot’s watch, the oversized crown was designed so pilots could operate the watch while wearing gloves in their unheated cockpits. With its legible Arabic numerals, graphic railway track, cathedral hands […]
Monochrome
A classic in Oris’ collection, the Big Crown Pointer Date borrowed features from the brand’s first serially produced pilot’s watch of 1938, including the oversized crown and the pointer date calendar indication. Reintroduced in 1984 by general manager Dr Rolf Portmann on a hunch that nostalgia for mechanical watches with a dash of aviation history […]
SJX Watches
IWC continues to grow its line of ceramic-cased pilot’s watches with the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun Miramar (ref. IW389409). A limited edition of 1,000 pieces unlike most other ceramic models that are regular production, the Miramar joins the pilot’s watches with ceramic cases in white, dark green, dark blue, beige, and of course classic black. For someone who wants the same colour, but for half the price, IWC has also launched the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 with a “Miramar blue” dial and stainless steel case (ref. IW388117) that’s regular production. Initial thoughts The IWC aviator’s watches with ceramic cases are generally appealing, the ceramic cases add a cool factor to an otherwise standard and functional design. But there are now a lot of them in multiple colours. The range of colours feels a little much, especially for a watch that meant to be rooted in aviation instruments. Because of the historical basis of IWC’s pilot’s watch line, the collection has always seemed a bit more serious minded, but the many colours run counter to that. That is, the Miramar itself is a likeable watch. The colour is unusual and fun while also being different. It brings to mind the fashionable shade of baby blue associated with Tiffany & Co., but is clearly different in being darker. And IWC’s build quality is always reliable; the cal. 69380 inside is an industrial workhorse found across the brand’s catalogue. The Miramar is also priced correctly, th...
Monochrome
For many fans of IWC, the first collections that spring to mind are the brand’s emblematic Pilot watches, the iconic Portugieser and the Ingenieur. However, there is another collection at IWC with a more classical, understated and timeless character named after the Italian seaside village of Portofino. Appealing to men and women alike, the latest […]
Quill & Pad
There’s nothing practical about a $76,000 watch – at least not in the big frame. But in the context of expensive man jewelry, some options are more useful than others. That’s where the Patek Philippe Pilot Travel Time Chronograph enters the small frame. Tim Mosso takes a closer look.
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SJX Watches
IWC gives its exceptionally shock resistant – and strikingly expensive – aviator’s watch a new look. The Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL Toto Wolff is dressed in the black and green livery of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team that’s sponsored by IWC and led by Austrian auto entrepreneur Toto Wolff. Although largely unchanged from the original version, the Toto Wolff edition features a stamped, grained dial with a cleaner aesthetic and open-worked hands. And the BMG shock-absorbing spring that rings the movement is coated in Petronas green Super-LumiNova for maximum visual effect. Initial thoughts Despite its (very) limited commercial success, the original Big Pilot XPL is an interesting example of horological engineering. While its considerable price tag was debatable, the technology inside was novel and exemplifies IWC’s historical focus on engineering. The new iteration is hardly revolutionary since it’s merely a cosmetic makeover, but it does bring a new aesthetics that might give the watch a bigger audience, especially with the high profile of Formula 1 and Toto Wolff himself thanks to the Netflix series about the sport. The new Toto Wolff edition is priced at US$102,000, comparable to the first version and steep for a time-only watch, especially so for an IWC. However, seen another way, the price is perhaps competitive since the another brand that has long emphasised shock resistance and Formula 1 is Richard Mille, and any of its watches is...
Monochrome
The IWC Ingenieur collection has long been one of the pillars of the Schaffhausen-based brand’s reputation, even if the spotlight often seems to shine brighter on the emblematic Pilot series. In recent years, IWC collections like the Pilot, Portugieser, Portofino, and, to a lesser extent, the Aquatimer have steadily introduced new references, leaving the Ingenieur line seemingly in the shadows. For a […]
Fratello
In December 2024, we published a review of the IWC RAAF pilot’s watch. This is a special timepiece that is only available to members of the Royal Australian Air Force (hence, RAAF). The overwhelming feedback I got through private messages as well as some of the comments on the article revealed a genuine frustration among […] Visit Historically Accurate Alternatives To IWC’s Modern Mark Series to read the full article.
SJX Watches
IWC’s latest timepiece for its Formula 1 partner is the Pilot’s Watch Mark XX Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. A no-frills, entry-level aviator’s watch with a lightweight titanium case, the new Mark XX is dressed in the same “Petronas green” livery as the F1 team’s chronograph introduced two years ago. As the official team watch for the 2025 F1 season, the Mark XX will be worn by every member of the Mercedes-AMG team, from mechanics to strategists, while also being to the public. Initial thoughts With its Petronas green dial and strap, the new Mark XX is well-suited as a team watch for the F1 team. It’s an appealing twist on the traditional pilot’s watch in black and white, which can be a little bit too formulaic. The matte, blasted titanium case further adds to the appeal as it is both lightweight and utilitarian in appearance. The bold colourway may be too bright for some, especially as an everyday watch, but for those wanted a more restrained look, IWC still has the base model Mark XX in low-key colours. Surprisingly, the Mark XX Mercedes-AMG isn’t that much more expensive than the base model. It’s approximately US$850 more expensive than the standard stainless steel version, making the new Mark XX a fairly good buy in comparison. Petronas green The new Mark XX adopts the same colourway and case material found on the Mercedes-AMG chronograph of 2022. It features a 40 mm case entirely in sandblasted titanium, giving it a matte finish with a sub...
Worn & Wound
IWC holds a special place in my heart. One of my first “ultra-performance” sports watches was an IWC Aquatimer GST on a matching titanium bracelet. This was a 2000-meter water-resistant dive watch that featured a push-down locking unidirectional bezel and a mix of Luminova and tritium luminescence. This was in the late 1990s, and shortly after, I was tasked with reviewing their new IWC TZC UTC Pilot Watch, reference 3251. This model featured a sublime 5-piece bracelet with a push-button easy link removal system still in use today. It also had a display opening on the dial indicating a second time zone. Over the past twenty years, I have had the opportunity to get to know many IWC watches. Last year, one of their releases particularly caught my attention. While their pilot series has generally been quite conservative, they have recently experimented with different dial colors, but nothing like this release. As a Mercedes F1 team sponsor, IWC released a Petronas-AMG-themed Pilot Chronograph featuring bright Petronas green dial accents. This was a 41mm version of their standard day-date chronograph featuring their in-house caliber 69385 automatic movement in a grade 5 titanium case. For 2025, IWC has released the Mark XX Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS, essentially a time-and-date version of their previously issued chronograph. This one also features a grade 5 titanium case, but this time with a solid case back. Dimensions are 40mm across the case, with a slender height of only 10....
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Fratello
Earlier this year, I wrote about a special watch from the International Watch Company Schaffhausen. That was the IWC reference IW3281-02, also known as the Pilot’s Watch Automatic RAAF (henceforth called “IWC RAAF watch” for brevity). This special timepiece pays homage to the original IWC Mark 11 watches issued to the Royal Australian Air Force […] Visit The IWC RAAF Watch Is A Reminder Of The Brand’s Rich Past to read the full article.
Worn & Wound
When IWC launched an updated version of their Ingenieur at Watches & Wonders 2023, it was a moment that many observers of the brand had been anticipating for years. After years spent building up their Pilot collection, there was a sense in the community that some of their sportier offerings were being ignored. It was only a matter of time, we all assumed, before the Ingenieur or perhaps the Aquatimer received an overhaul and the same type of years-long collection rehab as the beloved Pilot. It’s a little curious, then, that things in the Ingenieur collection have been somewhat quiet for so long. No additional complications, case materials, or even dial variants have been launched outside of the core lineup until the announcement of the new blue Ingenieur this week. The new dial in blue paired with a stainless steel case and bracelet joins the black, silver, and “Aqua” dials as well as the still rarely seen gray titanium version. It fills out the collection nicely and you would be forgiven for thinking it already existed. It’s not a revolutionary update or anything as these things go, but merely provides collectors with another option – a fundamentally good thing in our view. It’s interesting to consider the place of the Ingenieur in today’s watch world over a year removed from its reintroduction. This watch is a fascinating case study in the “it’s too expensive” climate of hot takes about literally any new watch that’s introduced. It’s become so...
Worn & Wound
Just a Minute with the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Founded in Hölstein, Switzerland in 1904, Oris has spent over a century building unique watches that reflect their independent spirit. Their Big Crown Pointer Date series is one of their most iconic, dating back to a pilot watch design from the 1930s. The Big Crown Pointer Date remains one of the most original designs on the market, effortlessly bridging the gap between casual and refined wear. With its elegant cathedral hands, a coin edge bezel, and a fourth hand indicating the date, the Big Crown Pointer Date blends the past into the present. As always, the Windup Watch Team is available via consultation to answer any questions you have. In addition, all of these products are eligible for free domestic shipping across the US. Just a Minute with the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Founded in Hölstein, Switzerland in 1904, Oris has spent over a century building unique watches that reflect their independent spirit. Their Big Crown Pointer Date series is one of their most iconic, dating back to a pilot watch design from the 1930s. The Big Crown Pointer Date remains one of the most original designs on the market, effortlessly bridging the gap between casual and refined wear. With its elegant cathedral hands, a coin edge bezel, and a fourth hand indicating the date, the Big Crown Pointer Date blends the past into the present. As always, the Windup Watch Team is available via consultation to answer any questions y...
SJX Watches
Continuing with its series of editions made for the Swiss Air Force’s aerobatic team, the IWC Pilot’s Watch Mark XX Patrouille Suisse is a clean, no-frills watch based on IWC’s entry-level pilot’s watch. A limited edition of 250 pieces, the Mark XX Patrouille Suisse is the fifth edition dedicated to the aerobatics team. This has two notable features that set it apart from the regular production Mark XX. First, the case is entirely in matte titanium instead of stainless steel. Secondly, the dial is sunburst-brushed slate grey rather than black or blue. Initial thoughts As one of IWC’s bestsellers, the Mark XX is a modern take on the historical IWC pilot’s watch. It’s relatively affordable and an easily wearable 40 mm. The standard Mark XX sticks to the standard template, so it isn’t that interesting. The Patrouille Suisse edition, on the other hand, is different enough to be interesting, but not so much that it loses the recognisable styling. The lightweight, low-key titanium case is particularly fitting for a pilot’s watch, both in terms of visuals and feel. And the grey dial adds a bit of nuance to an otherwise monochromatic look, though it could have been better without the date. Priced at US$6,500, the Mark XX Patrouille Suisse doesn’t cost too much more than the standard model, which makes it a compelling alternative. Admittedly the cal. 32111 inside is one of IWC’s most economical movements, but it is acceptable for the price. Shades of grey Ent...
Time+Tide
IWC isn't all about pilot's watches, as this year's bevy of interesting Portugiesers demonstrates.The post The inside scoop on IWC at Watches & Wonders 2024 from CEO Chris Grainger-Herr appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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SJX Watches
A year after revamping Pilot collection with fresh-faced aesthetics, Zenith releases a pair of boutique editions – the Pilot Automatic and Pilot Big Date Flyback. Both feature blue dials with a linear horizontal pattern inspired by stamped aluminium body panels of vintage aircraft. Initial thoughts Zenith is best known for El Primero of 1969, a high-frequency chronograph calibre now in its second generation, which is the movement found in both new Pilot models, although the former is not a chronograph. Both, however, share the same design that defines the current Pilot line-up. Unveiled last year, the Pilot has a friendlier, more modern face than most aviator’s watches that tend to be military-inspired. It has all of the hallmarks of a pilot’s watch, including large Arabic numerals and legibility, but manages to look distinct from all the other pilot’s watches on the market. Although blue is hardly a novel colour, the new patterned dials adds to the contemporary look, being even less military-esque than last year’s models in conventional black. The Pilot Automatic retails for US$7,500, while the Pilot Big Date Flyback retails for US$11,500. The time-and-date automatic is relatively pricey for a simple watch, although the high-beat, in-house movement helps justify the price somewhat. On the other hand, the chronograph is competitive against similar watches from rival brands, particularly since the calibre inside is the latest generation of the El Primero. Moreov...
Worn & Wound
I’ve had an admiration for IWC’s watches for a long time, and have owned multiple Pilot’s Chronographs and an Aquatimer over the years, but until recently I’d never spent a significant amount of time with a watch in their storied Mark series. These simple pilot’s watches are core to IWC’s history and the perception of the brand, and historically represent an entry point into the catalog for collectors. Die hard IWC fans have long debated the “best” of the Mark watches. Head over to any internet forum or comments section where watches are discussed amongst enthusiasts, and you’re certain to find people debating the finer points of date window placement, case thickness, and diameter across the breadth of Mark watches over the years. I acquired a Mark XVII from a local collector friend recently. This is a watch I’ve experienced on a nearly monthly basis at watch meetups over the last few years, and I’ve always said to this friend: Let me know if you ever decide to sell it. We all have a watch like this in our orbit, right? There might be an actual commandment against coveting, but in this hobby it’s fairly normal to stake a claim for something you want that a friend has in their possession. Well, we reap what we sow. Said friend decided to let his Mark go, and after some (internal) deliberation, a deal was struck, and I quite unexpectedly owned one of the objectively strangest watches IWC has made in the last few decades. The thing is, the Mark wat...
Worn & Wound
If you’re a fan of IWC pilot watches, you’ve no doubt participated in one of this cohort’s favorite activities, which is armchair quarterbacking the specifics of each release. We’ve gotten to a point where there are so many case sizes, complications, and case materials in the collection that the moment a new watch is announced, there’s a cry on the internet for that exact thing but tweaked, somehow, to more closely resemble another watch the brand makes. This is especially true with IWC’s ceramic cased pilot watches, which tend to be rather large and drive more than their share of “If only it was __mm” comments on Instagram. Earlier this year, in the midst of Ingy-fever, IWC quietly released a very nice 41mm chronograph in blue ceramic. It got some of us thinking: will more ceramic color options come to this Goldilocks sized case that everyone (myself very much included) seems to love? The answer, of course, is yes. This week, IWC revealed a watch that many collectors have been hoping for for quite some time, the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun Mojave Desert. The brown “Mojave” case is meant to look like desert sand, and has been a favorite when executed as a perpetual calendar and Big Pilot. It was also, first, a chronograph, which made its debut back in 2019 in the same 44.5mm case later occupied by the Tahoe and Woodland versions of the chrono. It’s certainly the brand’s most unique ceramic colorway, and I have a feeling the news of this...
SJX Watches
IWC’s latest is an inspired by the legendary off-roader made by its longtime partner Mercedes-Benz, the G-Wagen. More specifically, the Big Pilot’s Watch AMG G 63 is named after the luxury, high-performance G 63 made by the carmaker’s performance tuning subsidiary AMG. Available in two variants, the G 63 edition retains the traditional outline of the model, but brings along novel new materials, namely a hardened gold alloy known as Armor Gold and ceramic matrix composite (CMC), a carbon fibre composite containing silicon carbide ceramic for added hardness. The Big Pilot’s Watch AMG G 63 in 18k Armor Gold Initial thoughts IWC rolls out a lot of Big Pilot limited editions, probably too many, but this is one of the more appealing recent editions. The basic features of the Big Pilot G 63 are appealing – novel materials, a functional design, and IWC’s seven-day movement. The textured dials and sub-seconds are both novel features for a Big Pilot. They set the new pair part from other models in the line, but don’t stray too far from the traditional Big Pilot look. More interesting are the case materials – hardened gold or silicon-infused carbon composite – which are both a first for IWC. Though brands like Hublot and Richard Mille have long made such materials a specialty, they are unusual for IWC. Notably, both versions have Super-Luminova matched with the case material, beige for the gold model and grey for CMC, which feels a bit forced. I would have preferred...
Time+Tide
At Watches & Wonders, Zenith overhauled their Pilot’s watch and debuted a new collection of Pilot Automatic and Pilot Big Date Flyback Chronograph watches. While most, when it comes to Zenith, think of the Defy and Chronomaster collections, they also have rich roots within the realm of Pilot’s watches. This is why a new pop-up … ContinuedThe post FRIDAY WIND DOWN: New Zenith Pilot pop-up exhibit coming to NYC from August 8 to September 10 appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
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