IWC BIG PILOT’S WATCH (1940)
The first IWC Big Pilot’s Watch (Ref. IW431, with Caliber 52 T.S.C.) was supplied to the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) in 1940 in an edition of 1,000 pieces. The “big device,” constructed according to the criteria for an observer’s watch, is the largest wristwatch ever made by IWC, with a case diameter of 55 mm, a height of 16.5 mm, and a weight of 183 grams.
IWC PILOT’S WRISTWATCH MARK 11 WITH NATO STRAP (1948)
In response to a product requirement from the British government, IWC developed a service watch for pilots of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The technical specifications stipulated by the RAF were very rigid, including a requirement that the movement had to be protected against magnetic fields. Production of the now-legendary IWC Mark 11, with Caliber 89, started in 1948. In November 1949, the watch was supplied to airborne personnel of the RAF and other Commonwealth nations and remained in service until 1981.
IWC PILOT’S WATCH CHRONOGRAPH CERAMIC (1994)
Forty-eight years after the legendary Mark 11 was launched, IWC built on its Pilot’s Watch tradition with the launch of the IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph (Ref. IW3740). In 1994, IWC launched another Pilot’s Watch Chronograph (Ref. 3705), intended for modern aviation and equipped with a case made from high-tech zirconium oxide ceramic — a material as hard as sapphire and virtually indestructible. Its movement is caliber 7922.