IWC Big Pilot Annual Calendar, 2018 — view 1 of 6 — View 1 of 6 · Image: Analog/Shift · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

IWC Big Pilot Annual Calendar, 2018

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.

Maker / attribution: IWC (maker)
Date: 2018
Historical period: Contemporary Horology (2010 – Present)
Country of origin: Switzerland
Object type: Wristwatch
Dimensions: Case 46 mm
Dealer: Analog/Shift (dealer), New York
Stock no.: 40970060
Credit line: Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40970060)
Catalogue title (original): IWC Big Pilot Annual Calendar (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40970060), this is a wristwatch by IWC, made in Switzerland, dated 2018. The Atlas places it in the Contemporary Horology period (2010 – Present) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 46 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Dealer description — Analog/Shift

The IWC Big Pilot's Watch can trace its history back to the oversized timepieces produced for military aviators in the 1940s. These enormous pieces were originally designed for maximum legibility in a cockpit setting, with luminous dials, hand-wound movements, and robust steel cases. Today the Big Pilot's line is perhaps IWC's most identifiable collection, featuring a variety of case and dial configurations suited for any taste — provided your wrist can handle the oversized dimensions! This particular example — a thoroughbred 46mm piece cased in steel with an oversized 'onion' crown, a sapphire crystal, and a polished bezel — boasts an impressive annual calendar complication. Its grey sunburst dial boasts printed white 'Arabic' and 'dash' indices; a luminous 'sword' handset; month, date, and day windows beneath 12 o'clock; a power reserve indicator at 3 o'clock; and a running seconds indicator at 9 o'clock. Powered by IWC's Calibre 52850 automatic winding movement with a massive 8-day power reserve, it comes fitted to a signed IWC & Santoni black 'rivet' leather strap with a signed steel deployant clasp. It's also accompanied by its factory goodies and its paperwork dated to 2018. When you hear the term ‘pilot’s watch,’ there’s a healthy chance that what comes to mind is a timepiece from the International Watch Company....and that's because of the ancestors of this watch. Strap it on your wrist, and you too will want to take to the skies!

Historical context

Contemporary Horology (2010 – Present)

Silicon components, connected watches, optical-lattice research clocks and a thriving independent scene.

Smartwatches became the world's best-selling watches, while mechanical watchmaking focuses on craft, innovation (silicon components, new escapements) and independent makers.

Read the period in the timeline More wristwatches from this period Earlier: Mechanical Renaissance

Atlas type guide

Military, pilot and travel watches

The wristwatch owes much of its adoption by men to warfare and aviation. Wristlets — small pocket watches soldered with lugs and worn on a strap — were used in colonial campaigns and became standard equipment in the First World War, with protective grilles over the crystal ('shrapnel guards'). Louis Cartier's Santos (1904), designed for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, is often cited as an early purpose-made pilot's watch.

In the Second World War governments specified watches in detail: the German B-Uhr observation watches, the American A-11, and the British 'W.W.W.' (the 'Dirty Dozen' set of 1945). After the war, jet travel brought GMT and world-time watches, which show two or more time zones at once — Louis Cottier's world-time mechanism and the Rolex GMT-Master (1955) are examples.

What to look for

Military markings on the case back: broad arrow, issue numbers, 'W.W.W.', 'A.T.P.'
High-legibility black dials with luminous Arabic numerals; oversized crowns for gloved hands.
24-hour hands and rotating 24-hour bezels or city rings on GMT/world-time watches.
Wire lugs on early wristlets converted from pocket watches.

Dating clues

Wire-lug wristlets: c. 1900–1925.
Military specifications of the Second World War: 1939–1945.
GMT and world-time wristwatches: mainly after 1950.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

Mechanisms mentioned

Self-winding (automatic) mechanism — Component
Annual calendar — Complication
Power reserve indicator — Complication

Record completeness

Maker or attributionRecorded
DateRecorded
Place or countryRecorded
MaterialsNot in source
DimensionsRecorded
Narrative descriptionRecorded
Inscriptions / marksNot in source
ProvenanceNot in source
Several photographsRecorded

Editorial status: Documented — facts as published by the source; not independently verified by Atlas editors.

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Sources & image rights

Record source: Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (opens another website in a new tab).

Image rights: © Analog/Shift — dealer photographs; permission required (opens another website in a new tab).

Images are hosted by the Atlas for study and credited to their owner. Rights holders may request correction, credit changes or removal, or grant permission, via the editorial office.

Cite this record

"IWC Big Pilot Annual Calendar, 2018." Analog/Shift (dealer), New York, 40970060. Catalogue record in The Horology Atlas, WatchMuseum.org, https://atlas.watchmuseum.org/museum/iwc-big-pilot-annual-calendar-d0fc9c.