IWC to showcase new ‘Big Pilot’ collection

Luxury watch brand IWC Schaffhausen is set to showcase its new ‘Big Pilot’ watch collection at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie 2016 in Geneva on 18 January.

The collection sees the brand break its 75-year record set in 1940 when its historic Big Pilot’s watch was the largest wristwatch ever made. With a 55-millimetre case diameter, the new Big Pilot’s Heritage Watch 55 has broken that record.

The timepiece is directly inspired by the historic watch of 1940 and is being marketed towards collectors and lovers of authentic pilots’ watches. The watch will be limited to just 100 pieces.

IWC will also release a smaller Big Pilot’s watch 48 model, which will look similar to the original model but include “modern ideas of aesthetics and comfort”, and will be limited to 1,000 pieces.

Speaking about the 2016 collection, CEO Georges Kern said: “With the sheer choice of models in the Pilot’s Watch collection we’re also appealing to watch lovers who have until now dismissed the idea of an IWC watch.

“With the Pilot’s Watch Automatic 36 and the Pilot’s Watch Mark XVIII, we have widened the range of models in the entry-level segment. At the other end of the scale, we’ve created sizeable, authentic observer’s watches that resemble the historic original but are more in line with modern ideas of comfort.”