Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Woodland
The Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Woodland features a case made of green ceramic, complemented with the first ceramic bracelet from IWC Schaffhausen.
ABOUT THE WATCH
Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Woodland
The Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Woodland features a 46.5-millimeter case made of green ceramic, inspired by the flight suits of naval aviators and the vast forest landscapes these elite pilots fly over. For this watch, IWC Schaffhausen has manufactured a ceramic bracelet for the first time. Thanks to the light weight of ceramics, the bracelet offers a high wearing comfort on the wrist. The H-link bracelet is assembled from 38 ceramic parts, which are produced in an elaborate process. The powdered raw materials are shaped to a green body and then machined close to their final shape. During the subsequent sintering process, the parts shrink by around a third. This decrease in size must be factored in already during the design phase. The case back ring and crown are made of Ceratanium®, an IWC-developed material combining the lightness and structural integrity of titanium with a hardness and scratch-resistance similar to ceramic. The perpetual calendar automatically recognises the different lengths of the months and adds a leap day every four years at the end of February. It will only need a manual adjustment in centuries when the leap year is skipped, for example, in the year 2100. The Double MoonTM display shows the moon phase as it can be seen from both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Thanks to special reduction gear train, it is so precise that it will only deviate by one day after 577,5 years. Featuring a Pellaton winding system with ceramic components, the IWC-manufactured 52616 calibre stores a power reserve of 7 days in two barrels. The movement is visible through the tinted sapphire glass case 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
7 days power reserve
Rotor with 18-carat gold medallion
Small hacking seconds
Pellaton automatic winding
Power reserve display
Sapphire glass, convex, antireflective coating on both sides
Glass secured against displacement by drop in air pressure
Perpetual calendar with displays for the date, day, month, year in four digits and perpetual moon phase for the northern and southern hemisphere
Case
Ceramic
Case
Diameter
46.5
mm
Height
15.5
mm
Back case
See-through sapphire glass back
Water resistance
10.0
bar
Calibre
52616
Calibre
Movement type
Automatic winding,
IWC-manufactured movement
