The Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar in stainless steel with a racing green dial continues the long-standing tradition of perpetual calendar watches in the Big Pilot’s collection.
ABOUT THE WATCH
Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar
No other complication has taken centre stage on the dial of the Big Pilot’s Watch more often than the perpetual calendar. Developed during the 1980s by IWC’s former head-watchmaker Kurt Klaus, the large dial not only lends itself well to the mechanism’s many displays, but it also makes reading of the calendar information particularly easy. The Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar features a stainless steel case, a racing green dial, rhodium-plated hands and a green rubber strap. The perpetual calendar automatically recognizes the different month lengths and the leap years, and will not require a manual adjustment until 2100. Engineered from only about 80 individual parts, the calendar module is driven by a single nightly switching pulse from the IWC-manufactured 52615 calibre. Components of the Pellaton winding system that are subject to severe stresses are made of virtually wear-free ceramic. When fully wound, the two barrels store a power reserve of seven days. The elaborately decorated manufacture movement is visible through the sapphire glass back.
Perpetual calendar | IWC Schaffhausen
In the early 1980s, IWC’s head-watchmaker Kurt Klaus set out on an engineering journey to translate the Gregorian calendar with its many irregularities into a mechanical program for a wristwatch. His ingenious perpetual calendar, which debuted in the Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar in 1985, comprises only about 80 parts and displays the date, day, month, year in four digits, and the moon phase. The smart mechanical program automatically recognises the different length of the months, and even adds a leap day at the end of February every four years. The moon phase display is so precise that it will deviate from the actual phase of the moon by just one day after 577.5 years. All displays are perfectly synchronised and can be adjusted simply by turning the crown. Some models come with an additional century slide, so the watch can continue showing the date until 2499. The calendar only needs a small adjustment in those centurial years that skip the leap year, which is the case in 2100, 2200, and 2300. Some versions of the calendar feature a double moon phase display, showing the moon phase on the northern and southern hemispheres.
Features
Case
Movement
Packaging
Small hacking seconds
Rotor with 18-carat gold medallion
Sapphire glass, convex, antireflective coating on both sides
Glass secured against displacement by drop in air pressure
Power reserve display
Perpetual calendar with displays for the date, day, month, year in four digits and perpetual moon phase for the northern and southern hemisphere
7 days power reserve
IWC EasX-CHANGE® System
Case
Stainless steel
Case
Diameter
46.2
mm
Height
15.4
mm
Screw in crown
true
Back case
See-through sapphire glass back
Water resistance
6.0
bar
Calibre
52616
Calibre
Movement type
Automatic winding,
IWC-manufactured movement
