A Squadron Of New IWC Pilots Watches Touches Down

January 15, 2018

Theres more than new Ingenieurs to see at IWCs booth at Watches and Wonders 2025. Yes, there s also a quintet of new IWC pilots watches. First up are three new pilots chronographs linked to Apple Original Films upcoming movie F1, which is set to release worldwide this summer. There s also more complicated stuff - specifically, the Big Pilots Watch Shock Absorber Tourbillon Skeleton XPL and the Pilots Watch Performance Chronograph Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month.To celebrate the F1 movie partnership, IWC Schaffhausen adds three APXGP-inspired chronographs to its Pilots Watches collection. APXGP is the name of the fictional 11th Formula 1 team in the fast-paced action movie. These chronographs show a design with color codes and details inspired by the teams livery.Pilots Watch Performance Chronograph 41 ref. IW388309A squadron of new IWC pilots watches touches down, starting with three chronographs linked to the upcoming F1 movieIn F1, Brad Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, a former racing driver, who returns to Formula 1 wearing a vintage Ingenieur SL with a custom green dial. But Joshua Pearce, Hayess younger APXGP teammate played by Damson Idris, wears the Pilots Watch Performance Chronograph 41 (ref. IW388309 / $29,400). This is an 18K 5N gold 41 14.5mm chronograph with a tinted sapphire window in the case back, a black lacquered dial, and a black ceramic tachymeter bezel insert. The Performance Chronograph 41 has a black rubber strap with an integrated EasX-Change system. Then, there are the steel Pilots Watch Chronograph 41 APXGP (ref. IW388116 / $7,800) and the 43mm Pilots Watch Chronograph APXGP (ref. IW378009 / $8,000). These are watches dedicated to the APXGP team. The 41mm version has a 14.7mm case thickness, while the 43mm version brings an ever-so-slightly bulkier 14.9mm profile. 43mm Pilots Watch Chronograph APXGP ref. IW378009 43mm Pilots Watch Chronograph APXGP ref. IW378009 Pilots Watch Chronograph 41 APXGP ref. IW388116 Pilots Watch Chronograph 41 APXGP ref. IW388116 Pilots Watch Performance Chronograph 41 ref. IW388309 The steel chronographs also have tinted sapphire crystals in their case backs, but they feature the APXGP team logo printed in gold. Also, the black rubber straps bear a special laser engraving to commemorate the APXGP team as well as the EasX-Change system, which enables you to change them with the touch of a button. All three new chronographs are water resistant to 100 meters and house the IWC-manufactured 69385 caliber. In addition to continuous hours and minutes plus chronograph seconds in the center, it shows elapsed hours and minutes in totalizers at 9 and 12 oclock, running seconds at 6, and the day and date at 3. The power reserve of this automatic movement with IWC s bidirectional Pellaton winding system is 46 hours.Big Pilots Watch Shock Absorber Tourbillon Skeleton XPL ref. IW357701Big Pilots Watch Shock Absorber Tourbillon Skeleton XPLForget about the IWC Big Pilots Watch Shock Absorber XPL Toto Wolff. Theres something more shocking in town. Let me introduce you to the Big Pilots Watch Shock Absorber Tourbillon Skeleton XPL (ref. IW357701 / $215,000). This 44 13.1mm watch in Ceratanium is a creation from XPL, IWCs engineering division. The engineers took things a step further than they already did for F1 team boss Wolff. For the first time, they combined the complicated watchs patented SPRIN-g PROTECT shock absorbers with a tourbillon.The cantilever spring was redesigned entirely and adapted to accommodate caliber 82915 with a flying one-minute tourbillon. To reduce the movement s mass and optimize efficiency, IWC chose to skeletonize the plates, bridges, and winding rotor. Another benefit of these open-worked parts is a better view of the complicated mechanics and the BMG (bulk metallic glass) shock-absorbing spring inside. Not that anyone is ever going to experience and survive a shock like this, but during tests, the protected tourbillon movements survived forces exceeding 10,000 g.Pilots Watch Performance Chronograph Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month ref. IW388801Pilots Watch Performance Chronograph Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-MonthLast but certainly not least is the Pilots Watch Performance Chronograph Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month (ref. IW388801 / $90,000). This is another impressive creation. Its all-black Ceratanium case has a 43mm diameter and a 16.5mm thickness, and the pushers, crown, and bracelet are all made of the same material. The perpetual calendar displays the date and the month with the help of large golden discs at 9 and 3 oclock. These displays take inspiration from the brands 1880s Pallweber pocket watches, which displayed the hours and minutes using single digits. The mechanism in today s watch advances the wheel for the single-digit date disc every night and the tens disc when applicable. Meanwhile, it stores a little energy away every day. Releasing this energy at the end of the month moves the corresponding discs forward, as well as the leap-year disc at midnight on January 1st.It takes a 474-part movement to make all that happen. IWC s caliber 89802 not only takes care of the calendar but also acts as a chronograph. It shows the elapsed hours and minutes in a totalizer at 12 oclock. It also beats at a 4Hz frequency and provides 68 hours of power reserve. You can see this complicated black-finished movement in action through the case back s tinted sapphire display.So, what do you make of this squadron of new IWC pilot s watches? Do you have a favorite model? Let me know in the comments below.