Pilot’s Watch Timezoner Edition “Le Petit Prince”

The Pilot’s Watch Timezoner Chronograph Story

In order to set the watch to another time zone, the wearer simply needs to push down the bezel, turn it to the desired time zone and let it go – the hour hand, 24-hour day/night display and the date automatically move with the bezel. The time zones that have daylight saving time are marked with a small “S” on the rotating bezel. To create the mechanism required for this complication, IWC’s engineers brought together three technologies. The first of these is the city ring found on the Pilot’s Watch Worldtimer, on which the name of each city stands for one of the international time zones. The second technology is the spring-mounted rotating bezel, first used in the Porsche Design Ocean 2000 from the 1980s, which can only be moved if pressure is applied simultaneously on two diametrically opposing sides. This prevents accidental resetting of the time zone. The third technology is the external/internal rotating bezel taken from the Aquatimer, which transmits the movement of the bezel via a differential gear to the hour wheel, 24-hour hand and date advance wheel.

Calibre Family 82000

The IWC-manufactured 82000 calibre ties in with the tradition of high-quality automatic movements from IWC. It is fitted with the highly efficient IWC Pellaton automatic winding system, which uses both directions of the rotor to wind the mainspring. As in the IWC-manufactured 52000 calibre family, components in the system subject to pronounced stress, such as the pawls, the automatic wheel, or the cam, are made of ceramic. Thanks to the use of this high-tech material, they are virtually wear-free. The efficient automatic winding system builds up a power reserve of at least 60 hours in the mainspring. The indexless balance with a flat coil oscillates at a frequency of 4 hertz (28,800 beats per hour), ensuring a high level of precision. The rotor is skeletonised and offers a view of the movement decorated with circular graining and Geneva stripes.

Timezoner

The names of 24 cities are displayed on the bezel; each one represents one of the international time zones. The bezel is pushed down on opposing sides with the thumb and forefinger. The desired time zone (or, during the daylight saving time, the small “S” just before the city name) is then turned to the “12 o’clock” position. The movement of the bezel is transferred to the hour wheel, 24-hour display and date advance wheel, ensuring that all three displays can be adjusted forwards or backwards in one-hour steps. Drive for the normal movement of the hour hand and its “jump” when the time zone is changed is provided via a differential gear.

The Pilot’s Watch Collection

IWC unveiled the first Special Pilot’s Watch in 1936. The Big Pilot’s Watch followed 4 years later and was the ultimate deck watch. In 1948, the Schaffhausen watch manufacturer supplied the Mark 11 to British Royal Air Force, where it remained in service for almost 40 years. The cockpit-instrument look of these three iconic watches inspires the design of classic pilot’s watches to this day. The IWC Pilot’s Watch family is divided up into five distinct lines. The classic Pilot’s Watches are instantly recognizable thanks to their black-and-white dials and the triangular index at “12 o’clock”. The shimmering metallic dial on each Spitfire watch is reminiscent of the fuselage of their legendary namesake. Watches in the TOP GUN collection feature a classic dial and a black ceramic case with push-buttons and a crown made from titanium, while the TOP GUN Miramar line sports authentic military-style design cues. The “Antoine de Saint Exupéry” and “Le Petit Prince” special editions pay tribute to the life and work of the French author and pilot.

About IWC Schaffhausen

In 1868, the American watchmaker and entrepreneur Florentine Ariosto Jones travelled from Boston to Switzerland and founded the “International Watch Company” in Schaffhausen. His visionary dream was to combine advanced American manufacturing methods with the craftsmanship of Swiss watchmakers to make the best pocket watches of his time. In doing so, he not only laid the foundation to IWC’s unique engineering approach but also established the centralized production of mechanical watches in Switzerland.

Over its 150 year history, IWC Schaffhausen has developed a reputation for creating functional complications, especially chronographs and calendars, which are ingenious, robust and easy for customers to use. A pioneer in the use of titanium and ceramics, IWC today specializes in highly engineered technical watch cases manufactured from advanced materials, such as titanium-aluminide and Ceratanium®. Preferring the principle of “form follows function” over decoration, the Swiss watch manufacturer’s timeless creations embody their owners’ dream and ambitions as the journey through life.