IWC Spitfire Mark XVI IW325505

Modern by tradition

 

WC Schaffhausen introduced its first special  watch for pilots in 1936. It was designed to survive in the cockpits of the aircraft of the time. The optimally legible, black dial with its highcontrast luminous hands, large luminous figures and rotating glass bezel with an inlaid  arrow for short interval timing is regarded to this day as exemplary in terms of its functionality. This special watch for pilots was followed in 1940 by the Big Pilot’s Watch, built to military specifications with an original pocket watch movement and a large centre seconds – a certified observer’s and navigator’s watch for military pilots. The most famous IWC pilot’s watch,  the Mark 11 with the hand-wound 89 calibre movement, was used by civilian and military pilots alike from 1948 onwards. Its advantage over other pilot’s watches: It had an additional  inner case made of soft iron to screen the movement against magnetic fields.

The new Classic collection of pilot’s watches  follows the tradition of this timepiece designed specially for pilots. It comprises five models: the new Big Pilot’s Watch, the Double Chronograph, the Chrono-Automatic, the classic Mark XVI and, as an addition to the pilot’s watch segment, the Midsize model. Its case diameter of 34 millimetres makes the Midsize ideal for slender wrists. Other new features in this collection include the following: The case diameter of the Mark XVI has grown, in comparison with its predecessor the Mark XV, by one millimetre to 39 millimetres. The case of the Chrono-Automatic has also grown – from 39 millimetres to 42 millimetres. An item for watch collectors is the Double Chronograph in a ceramic case, which will be produced in a limited edition of 1,000 watches. The Big Pilot’s Watch starts the year 2006 with only minor modifications. The limited-edition platinum variant will be supplemented with a white gold model, and the form of the hands and the design of the dial have been modified to adapt to those of their colleagues. The models that make up the Classic pilot’s watch collection together now present a uniform image.

Since 2003, IWC pilot’s watches have also been available in a style that takes its name from an elegant aircraft: the Spitfire. The current Spitfire collection comprises four models: the Chrono-Automatic, the UTC watch with its two time zones, the classic Mark XVI and the new Spitfire Midsize. The dials and hands have been slightly modified, and the case sizes have been adapted to those of the Classic models.

Power Flyer

 

Technically advanced watches are a strong point of IWC Schaffhausen – in the water with the Aquatimer, on land with the Ingenieur models and in the air with the extensive range of pilot’s watches. The latter comprises the Classic collection, with dials in the traditional instrument look, and a more elegant collection, whose appearance is just as striking as the aircraft from which the watches take their name: the Spitfire.

The collection is a tribute to a British fighter aircraft that makes the hearts of ambitious pilots race. Developed in the mid-1930s, the Spitfire was an aerodynamic masterpiece, a high-tech machine of its age, and to this day is still one of the much-admired stars at air shows  throughout the world. The name Spitfire is also  a tradition at IWC Schaffhausen; a special edition of watches bearing this name, limited to 1,000 individually numbered pieces, was issued in the year 2000. The basis for this special model was the Mark XV, which might be described as the grandson of the legendary Mark 11  which saw service from 1948 onwards as an  official pilot’s watch with the Royal Air Force. This was followed in 2003 by an entire Spitfire range, which has been available ever since in parallel with the Classic range of IWC pilot’s watches.

There are four models – an Chrono-Automatic, the UTC watch with its two time zones, the Mark XVI and the new Midsize – in the new IWC Spitfire range, which owes a great deal to the outstanding technology and restrained elegance of the single-engined aircraft. Just as the panels on aircraft are usually attached to the frame with rivets, the numerals and indices are riveted to the dial in the new Spitfire watches. The appliquéd details are grouped around the raised centre of the dial, which is embossed in the truest sense of the word. If you look at the  watch, not directly from the front but rather at an oblique angle, you will get an impression of the three-dimensional aspect of the dial, the surface of which has been rhodium-plated to  produce a silky shimmer from which it derives  its restrained elegance. The impression of this is reinforced in the chronograph by the recessed totalizers. The new hands, which resemble propeller blades, are completely coated with luminous material and offer outstanding readability both day and night.

Spitfire Mark XVI