Haute Complication: IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Spitfire

When it comes to perpetual calendars does IWC has quite the reputation to uphold. It was mainly thanks to master watchmaker Kurt Klaus that this became one of the brand’s signature complications. While we can especially credit the Da Vinci for achieving this at first, putting the perpetual calendar in a ‘Pilots’-watch, another thing IWC became famous for, only further enhanced its popularity. This gives the perpetual calendar a completely different character.

This is most certainly the case with the Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Spitfire, which also follows another trend: having a bronze case. It gives this Big Pilot a unique appearance, especially in combination with its green-colored dial. With a diameter of 46.2mm, is there plenty of room to space out all the calendar features. This makes them easy to read, which is quite a rarity among perpetual calendars. The watch not only shows the current moon phase on both the northern as well as the southern hemisphere, but also the year in full. Unique is that all the calendar functions can be set with just the crown. Unlike other perpetual calendars, this means that this IWC has no correctors, making (re)setting it very easy.

Not that there is a need to do that very often, as it comes with an automatic movement with a seven-day power reserve. This caliber 52615 is made in IWC‘s manufacture in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, and consists of no less than 386 components. Like the other pilot’s watches from IWC is also the sapphire crystal of this timepiece protected against sudden drops in air pressure, while an anti-reflective coating on both sides makes it look like there is no crystal at all. With this particular Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Spitfire, of which IWC only made 250, does the brand proof that the perpetual calendar is not just a classic, but also a contemporary pleasure that can be very well served up in a sportive way.