The Big Pilot’s Watch 43 Tourbillon Le Petit Prince features a flying hacking minute tourbillon, an 18-carat Armor Gold® case and a deep blue dial with a beautiful sunray finish.
ABOUT THE WATCH
Big Pilot’s Watch 43 Tourbillon Le Petit Prince
With the Big Pilot’s Watch 43 Tourbillon Le Petit Prince, IWC Schaffhausen continues the tradition of Pilot’s Watches in honour of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s world-famous novel “Le Petit Prince”. Just as writing and flying were inextricably linked for Saint-Exupéry, this special edition is a perfect symbiosis of poetry and technology. Limited to 300 pieces, this Big Pilot’s Watch impresses with a 43-millimetre case and crown made of 18-carat Armor Gold®. This alloy is significantly harder and more wear-resistant than conventional 5N gold due to its improved microstructure. Contrasting with the case is the deep blue dial with a radiant sunray finish. The gold-plated hands and appliques, filled with Super-LumiNova®, emit an enigmatic glow in the dark. The star on the dial is the flying minute tourbillon at 6 o’clock. An ingenious horological invention, the tourbillon – French for “whirlwind” – involves the balance wheel rotating around its axis in a cage. This constant rotation not only provides a visual spectacle on the dial but also reduces the influence of gravity on the oscillation system, thereby increasing accuracy. Thanks to the integrated tourbillon stop, the mechanism can be brought to a complete stop and the watch set with down-to-the-second accuracy. The Big Pilot’s Watch 43 Tourbillon Le Petit Prince is powered by the IWC-manufactured 82905 calibre. It features a Pellaton winding system reinforced with ceramic components. Using movements of the rotor in both directions, it reliably builds up a power reserve of 80 hours in the mainspring. A special highlight is the rotor made of solid 18-carat gold. It takes the shape of the Little Prince standing on his asteroid and can be admired through the transparent sapphire glass case back. The watch is fitted with a brown calfskin strap with an 18-carat Armor Gold® folding clasp.
Tourbillon | IWC Schaffhausen
The tourbillon was originally designed to offset the gravitational error in pocket watches; today it mainly serves an aesthetic function. For the tourbillon, the balance, pallet and escape wheel are mounted in a tiny cage that rotates around its own axis once every minute. The construction of this mechanism represents an enormous challenge, and results in a filigree work of art consisting of 82 parts and weighing less than 0.5 grams. Only the most experienced master watchmakers are entrusted with the task of creating these works of art and are responsible for them from start to finish.
Features
Case
Movement
Packaging
Pellaton automatic winding
Flying minute tourbillon
Sapphire glass, convex, antireflective coating on both sides
Glass secured against displacement by drop in air pressure
Hacking tourbillon mechanism
Limited to
300
pieces
Case
18 ct Armor Gold®
Case
Diameter
43.0
mm
Height
14.5
mm
Crown
Screwed-in
Back case
See-through sapphire glass back
Water resistance
10.0
bar
Calibre
82905
Calibre
Movement type
Automatic winding,
IWC-manufactured movement
