If one were to retain just one image of IWC from the SIHH 2019, it would be the gleaming Spitfire in the middle of the booth, and the standout visit paid by the two pilots of “The Longest Flight”. Pilot’s watches are the star collection of 2019, and alongside the TOP GUN and Le Petit Prince lines, Spitfire is deploying a squadron of seven new models.
STEEL, BRONZE AND MANUFACTURE MOVEMENTS
While the IWC Spitfire collection is not new, it welcomes two aesthetic and technical innovations this year. IWC is introducing bronze as a new case material, alongside steel, and the dial colors diverge from the silver or gray of previous models to adopt black and olive green exuding a more vintage and military appearance, reinforced by beige Super-LumiNova®. Moreover, the watches retain the refined aesthetics inherited from the Mark 11 timepiece produced by IWC in 1948 for the Royal Air Force. On the movement side, all new Spitfires are powered by an IWC Manufacture caliber, which is a first. In addition to the special edition “The Longest Flight” (see previous page), the new Spitfire line includes the bronze perpetual Calendar limited editions, driven by the IWC 52615 caliber ; and the steel UTC Spitfire Edition “MJ271”, representing the first time the UTC have been incorporated into an IWC in-house caliber. Moreover, the 41mm Spitfire Chronograph and Automatic Spitfire models, available in bronze and steel, respectively welcome – for the first time in their relatively “small” case – an IWC caliber from the 69000 line, and the new Manufacture caliber 32110 with 72 hours of autonomy.
Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Spitfire
CASE : steel or bronze, sapphire crystal resistant to depressurization, soft iron inner case, water-resistant to 60m, engraving “Silver Spitfire The Longest Flight” on the back
SIZE : 41mm, thickness 15.3mm
MOVEMENT : mechanical self-windingIWC Caliber 69380, 28,800 vph, 46h power reserve
FUNCTIONS : hours, minutes, seconds, date, day, chronograph
DIAL : black or olive green, rhodium-plated or gold-plated hands with luminescence
STRAP : green fabric or brown leather
Pilot’s Watch Automatic Spitfire
CASE : steel or bronze, sapphire crystal resistant to depressurization, soft iron inner case, water-resistant to 60m, engraving “Silver Spitfire The Longest Flight” on the back
SIZE : 39mm
MOVEMENT : mechanical self-winding IWC Caliber 32110, 28,800 vph, 72h power reserve
FUNCTIONS : hours, minutes, seconds, date
DIAL : black or olive green, rhodium-plated or gold-plated hands with luminescence
STRAP : green fabric or brown leather
