born together with another iwc big pilot, the replica big pilot watch in my hand originates from the same pilot watch aesthetic as the mark XVii, but it goes in a drastically different direction pretty quickly. it attracted my attention with the first look on the watch face- the perpetual calendar readouts make up three of the four sub dials, as well as an additional year register between 7 and 8 o’clock. the remaining sub dial houses a rather elaborate moon phase complication. of course, those other sub dials aren’t just simple readouts either – they’re hiding some other information.
with the sub dial at 9 o’clock, you have it indicating both the day of the week, and the small seconds. over at the 3 o’clock register, you have the day of the month indicated, as well as where you are in the 7-day power reserve that the calibre automatic movement affords. by comparison, the month indication down at 6 o’clock looks almost plain!
having so many complex various readouts, iwc asserts that these can all be easily adjusted via the large crown – and the perpetual calendar itself should require no intervention by a watchmaker until 2100, when the typical 4-year cycle of leap years is broken. 
this model also contains references to the book. for the first one, take a closer look at that moon-phase complication – you’ll notice a small figure standing on the moon. flip the watch over, and you’ll see a medallion featuring the little prince mounted on the automatic rotor. You may also want to keep your eyes on the lookout for the other niceties in this movement, such as the Glucydur balance and breguet spring.
Given the number of complications in the movement, and the fact that the watch is called the big pilot, it should be no surprise that the red gold case comes in at 46mm, and is 16mm thick. it does carry forth the same midnight blue dial color that we saw in the mark XVii, but here the numerals, indices, and hands are gold plated, which gives an outlined shadow effect once the lume has been applied.
both replica watches attractive in their own right, the big pilot has the most ingenious references included in it, these pieces appeal to those who have a fond remembrance of the book from their youth, and have a love of adventure, and what the books represent.
