IWC Big Pilot’s Heritage Watch 55 & 48

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IWC Big Pilot’s Heritage Watch 55 & 48

Big Pilot’s Heritage Watch 55 & 48
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Precisely on course
La Cote des Montres - January 22nd, 2016

For 75 years, the historic Big Pilot’s Watch (52-calibre T.S.C.) was the largest wristwatch ever made at IWC in Schaffhausen. In 2016, IWC Schaffhausen unveils its successor: with an amazing 55-millimetre case diameter, the Big Pilot’s Heritage Watch 55 eclipses a record that was set back in 1940. Like its big brother, the Big Pilot’s Heritage Watch 48 looks very much like the historic original, but makes a few more concessions to modern ideas of aesthetics and comfort.

- IWC Grande Montre d’Aviateur « Heritage 48 »

- IWC Grande Montre d’Aviateur « Heritage 55 »

Schaffhausen-based watch manufacturer IWC launched the Big Pilot’s Watch (52-calibre T.S.C.) in 1940. It was the birth of the observer’s watches from Schaffhausen. The Swiss company is now reviving this tradition: with the Big Pilot’s Heritage Watch 55 (Ref. IW510401) and the Big Pilot’s Heritage Watch 48 (Ref. IW510301), it is launching two fabulous new models that are unmistakably inspired by the original observer’s watch.

With a case diameter of 55 millimetres, the Big Pilot’s Heri- tage Watch 55 follows on directly from the Big Pilot’s Watch of 1940. This enormous eye-catcher, available in a limited edition of just 100 watches, is aimed primarily at collectors and lovers of authentic pilot’s watches.

With a slightly smaller but still imposing case diameter of 48 millimetres, the Big Pilot’s Heritage Watch 48, which is limited to 1,000 pieces, is a practical alternative for every- day use.
But it is not only the watches’ size so much as their unmis- takable visual features that will make the hearts of watch connoisseurs race. From the dial design and colour of the luminescent numerals to the shape of the propeller-like hands, cone-shaped crown and historic leather straps, it is as if the Heritage watches were taking us on a journey back in time to the pioneering days of aviation. Except that now we have state-of-the-art IWC watch technology.

Big. Compact. Authentic.

Anyone with a Big Pilot’s Heritage Watch 55 (Ref. IW510401) on his wrist can be sure of one thing: making an impres- sion. IWC’s engineers took their cue from the original design and size of 1940 and brought the Big Pilot’s Watch back to life. Except this time it is in titanium. The lighter material is a nod to modern-day possibilities: weighing less than 150 grams, the watch is not quite as heavy on the wrist as the 183 grams of the original in stainless steel. Back then, size meant important advantages. Firstly, it meant that the watch could have as big a movement as possible, guaran- teeing the precision required for navigation or observer’s watches. Secondly, a large dial was better able to accom- modate clear numerals and offered much greater legibility. Back in those days, the dial design was very much based on historic cockpit instruments. Anything not absolutely necessary was abandoned to ensure that important infor- mation could be read off quickly and easily, even in poor visibility. The dial was matte black, and IWC’s watchmakers had coated the big Arabic numerals and indices showing the minutes with a thick layer of beige-coloured radium. The health hazard posed by radioactive luminescent coat- ings was only recognized years later, at which point radium was replaced by harmless materials. The current Super- LumiNova®* coating guarantees excellent legibility. As in the original, the chapter ring, Arabic numerals and propeller- like hands are beige.

Triangle once again under chapter ring

As an unmistakable sign of quality, even today the hands are blued. The figure “9” – omitted in subsequent models of the Big Pilot’s Watch after 2006 – is back in its old, familiar position. And taking the place of the “12” is a tri- angular index with dots on either side, which make it pos- sible to recognize the relative position of the hands and read the time even with a cursory glance in the dark. Today, the black dial and triangle are two features typical of a classic pilot’s watch. The fact that IWC’s designers chose to place it below “12 o’clock” instead of integrating it in the chapter ring is a further evocation of the 1940 original.

However, there is one small, visible difference: the Big Pilot’s Heritage Watch 55 does not feature a central seconds hand like the Big Pilot’s Watch (52-calibre T.S.C. – Tirette Seconde Centrale), produced in accordance with military specifications. Back then, pulling out the crown stopped the balance, thus allowing pilots and navigators to syn- chronize their watches with down-to-the-second accuracy. Today, the small seconds is found at “6 o’clock”, and the IWC hand-wound 98300 calibre can likewise be stopped by pulling out the crown.

Friction clutch protects hand-wound calibre against overwinding

As is usual in an observer’s watch, the titanium case is sand- blasted to eliminate reflections that might be detrimental to the watch’s legibility or betray the wearer’s position to the enemy. The watch movement itself is protected against magnetic fields by a soft-iron inner case. The cone-shaped crown is a reminder of those early days of flying, when pilots in their unheated cockpits were forced to wear thick gloves. Back then, the crown needed to be unusually large and chunky to make setting and winding the watch pos- sible even with gloves. And today, as in the past, the crown makes the daily ritual of winding the watch by hand a very special experience. With such a large crown, it would be easy to overwind and damage the mechanism, which for safety’s sake is equipped with a friction clutch to prevent this from happening. The IWC hand-wound 98300 calibre features an elongated index for simple and precise setting of the active length of the spring, a highly effective shock
absorption system and a 46-hour power reserve. The case back has been kept decidedly simple: the numbering from 01/100 to 100/100 is an unmistakable sign of this great watch’s exclusiveness. The Big Pilot’s Heritage Watch 55 is limited to 100 pieces and available exclusively from se- lected IWC boutiques all over the world.

For the brown calfskin strap, the designers took their in- spiration from the historic leather strap found on the Big Pilot’s Watch. This allowed the timepiece to be worn over a thick flying suit. The strap is divided in two and sewn together at the ends, which makes it impossible to drop the watch accidentally when putting it on your wrist. Then, as now, two rivets on the spring bar hold the strap to- gether. After all, some of the features that made the 1940s Pilot’s Watch so special simply cannot be enhanced.

Big Pilot’s Heritage watch 48 with 8-day movement

The Big Pilot’s Heritage Watch 48 (Ref. IW510301) makes more concessions to modern-day aesthetics and concepts of comfort. And that, of course, begins with its size. On the wrist, the 48-millimetre case is particularly impressive and is guaranteed to attract inquisitive glances at the office or the dinner table. The watch is suited to everyday use thanks primarily to its light titanium, which reduces its weight to 120 grams. The IWC hand-wound 59215 calibre gives the owner the convenience of a 192-hour power reserve that guarantees accurate running for 8 days before it auto- matically stops. Just how much energy remains can be seen on the power reserve display visible through a small aperture covered by sapphire glass on the back of the watch. Despite the aperture, this Pilot’s Watch also has a soft-iron inner case that guides magnetic fields safely around the movement. The 48 Heritage Watch likewise features a friction clutch against overwinding and is sup- plied with a riveted calfskin strap.

Observer’s watches once came with separate down-to-the-second accuracy

Using an observer’s watch back in the 1940s called for a chronometer with down-to-the-second accuracy and a secure grasp of astronomy-based navigation. Simply “dividing up” time was a complex business. Prior to take- off, the flight commander would set his observer’s watch by a fixed chronometer in the flight preparation centre; this was set using a time signal on the radio, which in turn took the time from a central seconds pendulum clock.

On board the aircraft, the Pilot’s Watches were thus the most precise. The navigator held the octant and was connected to the wearer of the observer’s watch, the flight commander, by radio. When the observer had set the sights of the octant so that they were in line with the star or sun, he would call out “Attention, zero!” and switch on his octant. On hearing the keyword “zero”, the wearer of the observer’s watch would read off the precise time. The exact course could then be calculated using a set of special tables.