Haute Horlogerie. We have one more IWC watch, released at SIHH 2012, to cover, and it may be the most impressive of the new offerings, the IWC Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun. This watch combines the seven day power reserve found in IWC's Big Pilots watches, with what we think is the grandest of all complications, the Perpetual Calendar.
The typical watch has enough reserve power to run 2 to 3 days without needing to be recharged by winding or the natural movement of the arm which winds automatic watches. IWC's 7-day power reserve is more than a cut above the standard. In addition, it actually has a 8.5 day power reserve, but the watch only runs for 7 days, as when the the watch reaches the end of its power band accuracy suffers.
The perpetual calendar function removes the need to be adjust every other month to take into account that some months have 28 days and 30 days rather than 31 days, and to account for leap years. A perpetual calendar is a mechanism that automatically takes into account the varying number of days in each month as well as leap years so that the watch displays the correct date each month without the need of adjustment. The movement in the IWC Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun will not require intervention until the year 2100, a year that breaks with the conventional four-year cycle and will not be a leap year.
Bring together these two features, makes for one impressive watch.
IWC Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun. The IWC Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun is a imposing watch with a 48 mm case diameter. It makes full use of its large dial.
Starting at the 12 o'clock position you have a perpetual moonphase display, displaying the phases of the moon in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
Moving on to the 3 o'clock position you have a sub-dial with two hands, one of which displays the power reserve and the other the date. At the 6 o'clock position, the watch displays the month. The year is displayed by a Windows between the 7 o'clock and 8 o'clock positions.
At the 9 o'clock position you have a sub-dial with two hands, one displaying the day, and the other continuous seconds.
The case is made out of a combination of ceramic and titanium with a strap made of a soft synthetic material. Part of me feels the modern look does not necessarily fit a perpetual calendar. I hope in the future we see a "classic" version of this watch on a stainless steel or white gold case with a leather strap.
About IWC. IWC or the the "International Watch Co. Schaffhausen" was founded by an American engineer from Boston, Florentine Ariosto Jones, in Schaffhausen, Switzerland in the year 1868. IWC Schaffhausen is notable for being the only major Swiss watch factory located in eastern Switzerland, as the majority of the well-known Swiss watch manufacturers are located in western Switzerland.
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