HANDS ON: The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Top Gun Edition and Perpetual Calendar “Mojave Desert”
Thor SvaboeIWC have the pilot’s watch game sussed out and their Top Gun series are among the toughest of the bunch, with a no-holds barred approach to the watch as a vital flight instrument. You might recognise a whiff of nostalgia in the large sword hands and classic onion crown big enough to twiddle with proper gloves on, but that’s where the mid-century cues stop. Instead, we are in the cockpit of an F/A-18E Super Hornet jet, pulling 3Gs on a time critical mission.
You might picture me as a big burly Viking, but I don’t always feel tough enough for a sizeable watch, and the IWC Top Gun edition pilot’s watches usually exacerbate this, with their unashamedly large, dark ceramic cases. But this time I’m confused..
I’m quietly wowed by the warm glow of sand, and not the dark wrist weapons I associate with the imposing Top Gun series. Holding the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Top Gun edition, and IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun edition, I’m fascinated by how much materiality changes perceptions.
But don’t get me wrong, I still feel like there is a staff sergeant watching me, quietly shaking his head as I, a mere civilian, dare strap on the minimalist 46mm Big Pilot’s Watch. While it looks no less the weapon-like instrument it is, is entirely transformed through the sand-coloured ceramic case. The contrast of look and intention is markedly apparent, first through the light weight, then the soft feel of the innately tactile case. It’s large, but it draws me in with its calm minimalism, as if some sort of horological totem carved out of sandstone, a symbol of the standing IWC has in the closed world of army and navy pilots.
The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun edition on the other hand, gives me an even stronger feeling of sweet conflict. While it sits prominently on my wrist, its enigmatic dial is spellbinding, and I’m silently nodding in approval, as the 46.5mm size seems only right for what is a vastly complex calibre.
I will warn you, that there is a strong possibility that I’ll repeat myself, increasingly apparent as I handle the two watches. The words that might pop up are “juxtaposition” and “contrast”. Why? One glance and you’ll see a watch that will look seriously cool with a linen suit and a cocktail by the pool in Marrakech. The colours exude a smooth warm glow that only sand and beige tones can produce.
But, the second I have it on my wrist I feel I’m missing full desert camouflage, a helmet and a humvee. Why? The substantial case of the three-hand Big Pilot’s Watch has lightness yet you can feel the strength, and this is the first time IWC uses this sandy ceramic, friendly of colour yet intensely complex to manufacture, in what is one of the hardest substances on earth. Polycrystalline powders are the base, mixed with auxiliary materials and sintered in a furnace at extreme temperatures. Tough? I thought you’d never ask, as this has a Vickers rating (scratch-proofing) second only to that of diamonds. Picture a Navy SEAL wearing a soft suede jacket and a smile – would you mess with him? I didn’t think so..
Both watches come on a classic sand-coloured rubber strap with a fabric inlay, another example of IWC’s evolved comfort and strength ratio. The Perpetual Calendar has the intense complexity of a pure instrument dial. The large onion crown is a pure delight to use, and an exemplary piece of functional design, while purely traditional in its shape.
The mission leader here would be the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun edition. It is an über-complex yet still legible dial, and that’s not something you can say about all QPs.
The 52615 calibre is a well known self-winding seven day mechanical movement, glance at the dial and be prepared for a visual assault of the senses that only a Perpetual Calendar can bring. Though here, there is a feeling of synchronised calm through the use of the muted colours, without losing the sharp details.
The dark brown dial creates a calm atmosphere for the barrage of information. The creamy sand colour of the applied lume to the circle of minute marks and Arabic numerals quietly frames the dashboard of a balanced layout.
There is a quiet sharpness in the displays for the date, day, month, year in four digits and perpetual moon phase for both northern and southern hemispheres, and a stepped dial within the day display at 9 for the small hacking seconds.
The size of the watch is easily explained by the need for clear information, and the seven days of power reserve is yet another reason for the 15.4 millimetre thickness – well worth the substantial wrist presence.
The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Top Gun edition with its minimalist Pilot’s dial, is the same size less half a millimetre, and equally balanced. Still the same calm, smooth case with its rock-like strength (well, actually harder than most rocks), and a perfect dial design. Bereft of complications the IWC pilot’s design is laid bare in its pure evolution.
This three hander is a watch with one purpose: to present a legible display while being indestructible. There are brown and beige large sword hands as befits a true pilot’s tool, superb lume, and a vast power reserve shown in a recessed register at 3 o’clock. What more do you need?
The purity of the three-hand version is powered by the seven-day 52110 calibre, a solid, twin barrel movement with a 28,000VPH beat rate, makes for instrument purity within the impressive ceramic case. This three-hand model is a series not limited per se, but limited to 250 pieces per year, a result of the manufacturing process for the new sand-coloured ceramic.
The 52615 calibre within the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun edition is as complex as it is an intrinsic part of IWC’s arsenal. With its 54 jewels and seven days of power reserve, the IWC Schaffhausen movement is as ingenious as it is easily read, a mechanical program developed in the 1980s by their former head watchmaker Kurt Klaus.
As an example, the moon phase display correctly depicts the moon phase for the northern and southern hemispheres, and only needs to be adjusted by one day after 577.5 years. All displays are fully synchronized, and can be advanced, a sight in itself, by the single large crown.
You’ll get a fascinating view of the 82-component calibre through the sapphire caseback, where it features a four-digit year display, and is reinforced by virtually wear-free ceramic components. Production of this Perpetual Calendar version will be limited to 150 a year.
On the wrist both of these 46mm instruments are similar yet vastly different. The comfort belies the size, and there’s the pure joy of simple legibility and supremely tactile sand-coloured ceramic that makes the three hand model a smooth twist to the usual hard contrasts of a monochrome pilot’s watch. There is a simple pleasure in knowing that something so touch-inviting as the surface of this warm feeling ceramic is one of the most scratch-proof materials you can wear on your wrist.
The Perpetual Calendar is a lesson in how much feelings can change with a case that has the faded colour of warm sand, with your knowledge that within lies the pinnacle of German horological engineering. While the dial might seem complex to the uninitiated, there is a pureness of form that can only come through the evolution within IWC, making this a totem to the horological engineering of Kurt Klaus.
IWC Big Pilot Top Gun “Mojave Desert” pricing and availability:
The Big Pilot’s Watch Top Gun Edition “Mojave Desert” is priced at $22,800 AUD and theBig Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun Edition “Mojave Desert” at $48,700 AUD. Both pieces are currently available from IWC Boutiques and Authorised Dealers.
Made in partnership with IWC. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own in accordance with our Editorial Policy.