With the new Big Pilot’s Replica Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition “Antoine de Saint Exupéry” and the Pilot’s Replica Watch Double Chronograph Edition “Antoine de Saint Exupéry”, IWC Schaffhausen pays tribute to the extraordinary life’s work of a great humanist and aviation pioneer. With the characteristic tobacco brown dial and calfskin strap, both of which call to mind Saint-Exupéry’s flying suit, IWC’s designers have ensured that these two replica watches, too, establish an outstanding, instantly recognizable line.
Since the beginning of the partnership between IWC Schaffhausen and the Fondation Antoine de Saint-Exupéry over 10 years ago in 2005, the tobacco brown dial and calfskin strap have established themselves as the hallmarks of the “Antoine de Saint Exupéry” editions. In the meantime, the unmistakable colour coding has come to stand for precision timekeeping and inventive genius in the name of the great humanist.
The Big Pilot’s Replica Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition “Antoine de Saint Exupéry”(Ref. IW503801) and the Pilot’s Replica Watch Double Chronograph Edition “Antoine de Saint Exupéry”(Ref. IW371808) likewise feature the same dials and the leather straps with the cream-coloured ornamental seams. At the same time, the name of the replica watch stands for good causes, because IWC Schaffhausen is a partner to the Fondation Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Working with its partners, it helps young people worldwide who are growing up in difficult and often hostile circumstances. Part of the proceeds from sales goes to the foundation and its partner organizations.
Big Pilot’s Replica Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition “Antoine De Saint Exupéry”
The Big Pilot’s Replica Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition “Antoine de Saint Exupéry” is packed with ingenious technical features. The perpetual calendar shows not only the lunar cycles but also the seconds, minutes, hours, date, day, month and year in four digits. Mechanically programmed, all the displays are automatically advanced and will take into account different month lengths and even all the leap days in the Gregorian calendar until 2100, without the need for a single correction.
The polished bezel underscores the singular quality of the replica watch as much as the sun-pattern finish on the dial does. The cone-shaped crown is reminiscent of the pioneering age of aviation, when pilots like Saint-Exupéry often had to climb into an ice-cold cockpit and operate the controls with gloves. The rhodium-plated hour and minute hands and the indices are coated with luminescent material, while the red-tipped date, day and month hands recall cockpit instruments. This is also the first time that the IWC manufactured 52610-calibre movement from the new IWC 52000-calibre family has been used in a Pilot’s Replica Watch.
Twin barrels supply the power needed to provide 7 days’ running time and to drive the additional functions and displays. When the replica watch is worn normally, the bidirectional Pellaton winding with its new ceramic pawls generates maximum tension in the spring. The power reserve display, which is combined with the date display at “3 o’clock” on the dial, slowly moves anticlockwise from 1 to 7 (days), indicating that the movement is fully wound.
A glance through the transparent sapphire-glass back reveals the movement’s intricate design. We clearly see the new features in the calibre family, such as the twin barrels, the enhanced Pellaton winding with its practically wear-free components made of black and white ceramic, the blued screws and the various decorative polished finishes on the bridges. The rotor is made of solid 18-carat red gold and bears the engraved inscription EDITION SAINT EXUPÉRY.
The additional ONE OUT OF 750 is an indication that the special edition is limited to just 750 replica watches. Prominent at the centre of the rotor is a medallion with an initial A., as in Antoine (de Saint-Exupéry). The 46-millimetre stainless steel case is water-resistant to 6 bar and the glass secured against displacement by drops in air pressure. The Big Pilot’s Replica Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition “Antoine de Saint Exupéry” features the brown Santoni calfskin strap with the eye-catching seams and thus recalls Saint-Exupéry’s flying suit.
Technical details
Big Pilot’s Replica Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition “Antoine De Saint Exupéry”
Ref. IW503801
Limited edition of 750 replica watches
Functions
Power reserve display
Perpetual calendar with displays for the date, day, month, year in four digits and perpetual moon phase
Small hacking seconds
Movement
IWC-manufactured calibre 52610
Mechanical movement
Pellaton automatic winding
Frequency: 28,800 A/h | 4 Hz
Jewels: 54
Power reserve: 7 days (168 h)
Winding: Automatic
Glucydur® beryllium alloy indexless balance with high-precision adjustment screws on balance rim
Breguet spring
18-carat red gold rotor
Case, dial and strap
Stainless-steel case
Glass: Sapphire, convex, antireflective coating on both sides
Water-resistant: 6 bar
Diameter: 46 mm
Height: 15.5 mm
Screw-in crown
Glass secured against displacement by drops in air pressure
See-through sapphire-glass back
Brown dial
Brown calfskin strap by Santoni, stainless-steel folding clasp
Pilot’s Replica Watch Double Chronograph Edition “Antoine de Saint Exupéry”
Engraved into the back of the Pilot’s Replica Watch Double Chronograph Edition “Antoine de Saint Exupéry” (Ref. IW371808) is a Lockheed P-38 Lightning. This was the aircraft in which writer and flying pioneer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry took off on 31 July 1944 to make what turned out to be his last reconnaissance flight, over the south of France.
If you look inside the cockpit of a P-38, you will be surprised at how quickly you find your way around the numerous instruments. The circular displays are generously sized and clearly arranged. The light-coloured hands and indices are coated with luminescent material and, against the dark background, offer outstanding legibility both during the day and at night. The switches and buttons are all ergonomically shaped. Virtually all the same characteristics apply to the Double Chronograph that IWC Schaffhausen will unveil as a special edition of 1,000 replica watches in 2016.
The total of seven hands together with the date and day have been so skilfully integrated into the brown dial that the control panel look is emphasized without creating a loss of orientation. The hands are shaped like propeller blades and coated all over with a luminescent material, with two minor exceptions: the chronograph seconds hand and the split-seconds hand both have a red tip. The word “rattrapante” comes from the French and denotes the split seconds hand in a double chronograph.
Unlike a standard chronograph, the split-seconds chronograph has two hands that start simultaneously. The rattrapante or split seconds hand, which is superimposed on the stopwatch hand, can be stopped independently using a third pushbutton at “10 o’clock”, while the stopwatch hand continues to run. This permits the user to record two separate times, with down-to-the-second accuracy, within any given minute. If the split-seconds button is pushed again, the split hand instantaneously catches up and is synchronized with the other hand. It is then possible to record a new lap time or intermediate time. This function originated in flying, where specific curve radii had to be timed during flight.
The upper and lower counters show aggregate times up to 12 hours, while the subdial at “9 o’clock”, as usual, contains the permanent seconds hand, which shows that the replica watch is functioning normally. In the subdial at “6 o’clock” is an A. for Antoine. The sun-pattern finish imbues the brown dial with a metallic shimmer. The 79420-calibre chronograph movement guarantees the replica watch’s mechanical perfection.
The 44-millimetre stainless-steel case is painstakingly finished by hand: the result is a dynamic interplay of polished and satin-finished surfaces. With its soft iron inner case for protection against magnetic fields and a sapphire glass secured against drops in pressure, the Double Chronograph has all the features needed by a replica watch designed for flying. A brown Santoni calfskin strap secures the replica watch firmly to the wearer’s wrist.
Technical details
Model: Pilot’s Replica Watch Double Chronograph Edition “Antoine De Saint Exupéry”
Ref. IW371808
Limited edition of 1,000 replica watches
Functions
Date and day display
Stopwatch function with hours, minutes and seconds
Small hacking seconds
Split-seconds hand for intermediate timing
Movement
Calibre 79420 Mechanical chronograph movement
Frequency: 28,800 A/h | 4 Hz
Jewels: 29
Power reserve: 44 h
Winding: Automatic
Case, dial and strap
Stainless-steel case
Glass: Sapphire, convex, antireflective coating on both sides
Water-resistant 6 bar
Diameter: 44 mm
Height: 17 mm
Soft-iron inner case for protection against magnetic fields
Screw-in crown
Glass secured against displacement by drops in air pressure
Special back engraving
Brown dial
Brown calfskin strap by Santoni, stainless-steel folding clasp