The new edition to the prestigious Pilot's Watch family is a tourbillon and perpetual calendar model.
IWC Schaffhausen has released watches commemorating Antoine de Saint-Exupéry since 2006 and is a patron of the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation. There's a family of Pilot's Watches to prove it.
They’re inspired by the French author's biography and life's work, who also happened to be a professional pilot. The first year of their partnership produced the Pilot's Watch Chronograph "Antoine de Saint-Exupery", limited to 1,630 pieces in stainless steel and 250 in rose gold.
In 2013, the manufacture transitioned from making special limited edition versions to forming a separate line called Le Petit Prince. It began to be filled with extra-complicated models, starting with the IW326506 Pilot's Watch Mark XVII Edition “Le Petit Prince” launched eight years ago — a three-hand watch with a date display.
For 2021, the manufacture has now introduced the Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Edition “Le Petit Prince”. This watch pairs two complications which the collection has already seen in different combinations. In 2013 for instance, a limited series of 270 pieces were released with the first perpetual calendar, the Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition “Le Petit Prince” (Ref. IW502802), then the first tourbillon in the series debuted in 2018.
The novelty has been unveiled for the experts to judge. The manufacture has treated them to super-complicated pieces in the past. The Big Pilot’s Watch Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition "Le Petit Prince" certainly deserves a mention, encased in the brand's innovative Armor Gold alloy. This material's gold content is equivalent to 18 karat gold, i.e. 75% pure gold.
It stands out for being significantly harder and providing a higher level of scratch resistance that conventional 5N gold. The precise recipe for Armor Gold is kept under wraps, although IWC have lowered the veil of secrecy ever so slightly by revealing that the material is produced in a process which transforms the alloy's microstructure. The same Armor Gold alloy has been used for this year's novelty in a case measuring 46.2 × 16 mm.
Concealed within this case is the 51950 Caliber, which has already been housed in the IW504505 Portugieser Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Edition 150 Years. The resulting model is a distinctive fusion: the same movement has been used while transitioning from the elegance of the Portugieser to the boldness of the Big Pilot’s Watch.
The oscillating weight depicting the Little Prince allows enough energy to be accumulated to keep the watch running by itself for a week. The bottom of the dial is reserved for the moon-phase display. Owners of one of the 50 pieces for 2021 may find it interesting to contemplate the idea that one day one of their distant descendants will be the first to manually adjust the moon-phase display. After all, it’ll only need to be corrected 577.5 years from now.