The IWC Big Pilot flying higher than ever
Nick KenyonEditor’s note: Ergonomics have always been at the forefront of design for the IWC Big Pilot, with the large legible dial and oversized onion crown perfect for low-light cockpit conditions, and use with flight gloves. Despite this, it was a significant move when IWC took the design to a new place, with the Big Pilot Edition ‘Right-Hander’. It now features the crown on the left-hand side of the case, to avoid uncomfortable digging into the back of the hand or wrist. While we are still digesting this design update, we wanted to look back at the Big Pilot that started it all, and the cult status that it commands around the world.
When IWC released their Big Pilot (reference 5002, now updated to reference 5010) in 2002 they were pioneers in the big watch game and they could hardly have known what legend they were creating. At 46mm it was a beast, an irresistible force. The deceptively simple design and concept is one that has been imitated, but never bettered. The Big Pilot makes a Big Statement, and over the years has attracted some big-name wearers.
Orlando Bloom
Orlando – A longtime IWC and Rolex fan (he’s often spotted with a Submariner on a NATO strap for indie points), he was seen wearing a Big Pilot from his Lord of the Rings days.
Jude Law
Jude — Talk about an odd couple; the overtly masculine and oversized Big Pilot monsters the wrist of pretty Jude Law, but once again, the effect is compelling. No wrist is too slim and no man too feminine for this all-season all-rounder.
Bradley Cooper
Brad — It makes perfect sense that Bradley “friend of the brand” Cooper has a BP in his IWC rotation. Now that we think of it, we can imagine Cooper as a dashing Luftwaffe air ace in a WWII adventure, with a (1940s original) Big Pilot strapped to his wrist. Make it happen, movie gods! But Brad, please make that burnt orange dinner jacket stop …
Alexander Skarsgård
Alexander — Scandi-vampire star Skarsgård wearing a BP goes together like a horse and carriage. It’s got the clean lines all north European residents love, and lots of lume for nocturnal action. Few things have given us quite the bloodlust for a BP like this pairing. Deadly.
Jason Statham
Jason — What Panerai do you wear when you feel like a break from a Panerai? Statham has the answer: a Big Pilot, by IWC. The all-action movie star man’s love of big manly watches is well known, especially those starting with PAM and ending in many, many different sets of numbers. Does he have them all? But he’s not averse to mixing religions. Heck, even Time+Tide’s local man-about-town Pierrick Boyer has admitted to wanting a Big Pilot back that he sold many years ago. But this time with a perpetual calendar.
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin — The man who wrote the most famous watch-related movie scene in cinematic history (from Pulp Fiction, you know it) wears a Big Pilot a lot of the time. That is all.