I have been quiet for a little while – alas, due to both ill-health and simply a lack of material. Anyway, whilst I am awaiting a pretty major operation soon, I felt it was time to put pen to paper again.
Whilst considering what to do, I went through all the watches I currently own. I then realised that I had never covered one of my really favorite watches; an IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph. How on earth had I missed that! To be fair, I had in fact covered a bit of it already – well, at least the strap that it is now on! I wrote about this way back in June 2019 (see full article under the Luxury tab. Ed) as it was pretty special, being made from reindeer leather salvaged from an 18c shipwreck off the Cornish coast in the early 1970’s. The strap was crafted by Cleverley’s – veteran handmade shoemakers based in The Royal Arcade, Old Bond St.
OK, getting down to business, I bought the watch when I called in at Iconic Watches in Lancashire – must be over 10 years ago. In fact, I went up just for this, but also then came away with a Panerai Luminor Marina and something else – which I can no longer remember. The IWC was in very good condition and cost me a smidgen over £3k – with box and papers. I seem to recall that the rrp at the time was around £4.5k
I shall just divert a little here, and say, that in my opinion IWC make some of the most iconic pilot type watches going – and have done since they launched their first in 1936. That is why I wanted one!
The precise reference of my watch is IW371704, and it dates from 2012. It has a s/s case of 42mm by some 14mm deep. It sports light brushing with a slightly polished bezel, capped by a domed anti-reflective sapphire crystal. The lugs – whilst quite meaty, flow nicely from the case. To the right is a decent sized heavily knurled crown with logo atop. This is flanked by two modest chronograph buttons. The reverse reveals a solid back (usual in this type of watch and which complements the soft iron inner cage in fending off magnetism) which notes little – aside from the make and model, plus serial number. Whilst not indicated, waterproofing is to around 60m.
The dial is a deep black colour, and the outer rail track, batons, and other numerals/scripts are in white. That is except for a red hand on the running seconds register at 9 o’clock. Heavy lume (Superluminova) is applied in most areas. There are two other registers – 30 minute counter at 12, and the 12 hour counter at 6. At 3 o’clock are the two apertures for the day/date – with quickset. As you would expect from such a watch, all readings are super clear!
The movement is an automatic caliber reference 79320 – essentially a heavily modified ETA/Valjou 7750. This is a very good quality/robust movement and can be extremely accurate. The mechanism runs at 28,800vph, and has around 44 hours of power. There are some 31 jewels to ensure that it all runs, er, like clockwork!
The watch originally came with a semi-patent black alligator strap. Some years later I swapped this out for the brown leather strap you see today (remarked on earlier), and I believe this suits the watch better.
As the earlier noted case dimensions show, this is no small watch. In fact, it is really on the limit of what I would wish to wear – not only from a physical size point of view, but weight too. That said, it wears pretty comfortably and I used to wear it a lot – before I acquired more watches!
Regarding investment aspects, I did not buy it with that in mind. That said, happily it has appreciated a little since I bought it – or at least held it’s value. Today I note that from various listings on the internet, retailers are selling for some £3.5k-£3.9k, and private sales from £2.6k-£3.5k. The equivalent watch today is a little over £6k. It is now 43mm in size, and has a more modern in-house movement.
In conclusion, it would not be too trite to say that this watch (and similar models from IWC) are pretty iconic of the pilot genre – their roots going back to pre WW2. They are robust, reliable, wearable, and in my view pretty affordable – particularly pre-owned. That is why my watch will be a “keeper”!!
Rating: 4.5/5
Unless otherwise noted, all words/images: The Writer.