WT_2002_06: TEST: IWC BIG PILOT'S WATCH

TEST: IWC BIG PILOT’S WATCHThe Big Pilot’sWatch is thebrainchild ofPius Brida (left)and KilianEisenegger.The large, distinctively designed dial ishighly legible thanks to its generously proportioneddisplays and the antireflectivetreatment that’s been given to both the innerand outer surface of the sapphire crystal.The ancestor of The Big Pilot’s Watch:the Caliber 52 s. c. from 1940.We were curious to find outwhat impelled IWC to create anew watch in the spirit of thebig pilot’s watches of yesteryear.Here’s what Pius Brida, directorof product development at IWC,said in answer to our query:“The Caliber 5000, which we presented twoyears ago inside our limited-edition Portuguese2000, was only the kickoff. From thevery beginning, it had been clear to us that wewouldn’t construct a self-winding movementfor use solely inside one Portuguese model,but that we would use it as the inner life for awhole family of big watches. During the initialphases of the design process, we had alreadygiven the base caliber everything it would needso that it would be able to power many otherkinds of watches in the future.” Brida continues:“Strictly speaking, we’re the only manufacturerthat can feasibly build such a largewatch with ultramodern technology.“ Lookingback at the recent history of pilot’s watchesfrom IWC, you can see that the only thing thatwas lacking was a worthy successor to the bygoneCaliber 52 s. c. If IWC had added The BigPilot’s Watch to its collection at an earlier date,it would have had no other option but to encaseinside it either a pocket-watch movementof IWC’s own making or the big ETA Caliber6497/6498. If you ask us, IWC was wise towait until it had developed a commensuratecaliber of its own. This way, aficionados andcollectors who acquire The Big Pilot’s WatchAn inner case made ofsoft iron protectsthe movement againstmagnetism.are buying a genuine manufactureitem.The Big Pilot’s Watch pays attentionto even the smallest details.Its new Caliber 5011 improveson the 5000 by adding adate display and shifting theseconds indicator to the center of the dial. Asmall change was also made in the rotor of theautomatic winding system: the golden insigniathat adorned the rotor and was visible throughthe transparent back of the limited-editionPortuguese 2000 has been eliminated fromthe rotor of the 5011. Kilian Eisenegger, headof development at IWC, explained to us thatcomprehensive aging and stress tests havebeen conducted on the caliber ever since itsproduction first began. The total ordeal consistsof 30 steps that we were originally askednot to divulge. After lengthy negotiations withhead of development Eisenegger, we wereable to persuade him to permit us to describe asmall selection of the more interesting tests.Not every caliber in the production run is subjectedto this elaborate procedure; instead, theengineers orient themselves according to thenumber of units produced and test a preciselypredefined number of movements in order tobe sure that no substandard items slipthrough.The following tests, as well as others notmentioned here, are conducted on watchesthat have first been artificially aged, then subjectedto impact testing.70 WatchTime December 2002