Collection: IWC Pilot's Watches

IWC's Pilot's Watches collection traces back to 1936, when the brand introduced its "Special Watch for Pilots," an oversized, antimagnetic timepiece designed for civil aviation use. That heritage deepened in 1948 with the Mark 11, a rugged, highly legible watch commissioned by the British Royal Air Force, and today's Pilot's Watches carry those same design principles forward: bold Arabic numerals, exceptional legibility, and cockpit-tested durability.

The modern collection spans several distinct families. The IWC Big Pilot's Watch, instantly recognizable by its oversized case and signature cone-shaped crown, remains the collection's flagship, now available in Ceratanium and black ceramic case options with complications up to a perpetual calendar and perpetual moon phase. The IWC Top Gun line, developed in partnership with the elite U.S. Navy fighter pilot program, brings high-performance ceramic and titanium cases built for extreme durability, including special desert and woodland-toned editions. The IWC Mark XX carries forward the Mark series' aviator-tool-watch lineage as the collection's core three-hand pilot's watch, while the IWC Spitfire offers a sleeker, more classically finished take, and select models pay tribute to French aviator and author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, honoring his legacy with tobacco-toned dials inspired by the original 1936 pilot's watch.

King Jewelers is an authorized IWC Schaffhausen retailer, with a dedicated IWC Boutique at The Mall at Green Hills in Nashville carrying a wide selection of Pilot's Watches, including the Big Pilot's Watch, Top Gun, and Chronograph models in ceramic, Ceratanium, and steel. The boutique also offers Jean Rousseau custom watch straps, which can be configured and previewed online before ordering. Every IWC watch purchase includes free shipping, and our team can help you explore the full Pilot's Watches lineup in person or online at kingjewelers.com.

Two Founding Watches, Two Sides of WWII
IWC's Pilot's Watches trace back to two distinct wartime origins on opposite sides of the same conflict. In 1940, IWC delivered 1,000 examples of an oversized observation watch, the "Beobachtungsuhr" or B-Uhr, to the German Luftwaffe. Nicknamed the "Grosse Fliegeruhr" (big pilot's watch), reference 431 remains the largest wristwatch IWC has ever produced: a 55mm case, 16.5mm thick, weighing 183 grams, designed to be worn over the sleeve of a flight suit and read at a glance in a cockpit.

The second founding watch came from the other side: in 1948, IWC began producing the Mark 11 for the British Royal Air Force, a rigorous military-spec navigational watch (officially "Navigational Wrist Watch Mark 11") with an antimagnetic soft-iron cage protecting its Caliber 89 movement. The Mark 11 proved so dependable that the RAF kept it in active service for over 30 years, until 1984, making it one of the longest-serving military watches in history and the direct design template, central seconds, clean dial, triangle marker at 12, sans-serif numerals, for every modern IWC Mark watch.

The Mark Series Evolution

1948 — Mark 11 introduced for the RAF, remains in service until 1981-84

1994 — Mark XII revives the lineage with a self-winding Jaeger-LeCoultre-based Caliber 884, 36mm case

1999 — Mark XV grows to 38mm with a modified ETA 2892 movement

2016 — Mark XVI/XVIII shift design language closer to the original 1940s B-Uhr aesthetic (flieger sword hands, dotted triangle)

2022 — Mark XX launches quietly, continuing the collection's core three-hand design philosophy

The Big Pilot's Revival
The oversized Big Pilot's Watch disappeared after WWII, with only around 1,000 originals ever made, and remained a historical footnote until IWC revived it in 2002 with reference 5002, a modern 46.2mm automatic interpretation with an 8.5-day power reserve. Since then, the Big Pilot's Watch has become IWC's flagship pilot's model, expanding into the Top Gun (developed with the elite U.S. Navy fighter program), Spitfire, and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry sub-lines, all built around the same oversized case and cone-shaped crown.

Additional Collection Pillars

Pilot's Chronograph ("Flieger Chronograph") — Introduced in 1988, initially available in self-winding and meca-quartz versions

Top Gun — Established as its own line in 2012, developed with elite naval aviators for extreme-durability ceramic and titanium cases

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry / Le Petit Prince — Since 2009, honors the French aviator-author with tobacco-toned and midnight-blue dials referencing his real WWII reconnaissance missions

At King Jewelers
King Jewelers is an authorized IWC Schaffhausen retailer, with a dedicated IWC Boutique at The Mall at Green Hills in Nashville carrying a wide selection of Pilot's Watches, including the Big Pilot's Watch, Top Gun, and Chronograph models in ceramic, Ceratanium, and steel. The boutique also offers Jean Rousseau custom watch straps, configurable and previewable online before ordering. Every IWC watch purchase includes free shipping, and our team can help you explore the full Pilot's Watches lineup in person or online at kingjewelers.com.

IWC's Pilot's Watches collection spans the oversized Big Pilot's Watch, the rugged ceramic Top Gun, the classic three-hand Mark XX, and chronograph models across steel, ceramic, and Ceratanium® cases. King Jewelers' dedicated IWC Boutique in Nashville carries a broad selection of this heritage-rich lineup, in person and online.

Big Pilot's Watch 43 — Oversized case, cone-shaped crown, EasX-CHANGE strap system, Caliber 82100 with 60hr power reserve. The flagship, tracing back to the 1940 B-Uhr.

Big Pilot's Watch Top Gun — Black or white ceramic case, developed with elite Navy aviators, extreme-durability materials including Ceratanium®.

Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun — Adds perpetual calendar and moon phase to the Top Gun's rugged ceramic case.

Pilot's Watch Chronograph Top Gun — 44.5mm ceramic chronograph, day/date, tachymeter-adjacent legibility for a sport-pilot look.

Mark XX — The direct descendant of the 1948 RAF Mark 11, clean three-hand dial, dotted triangle at 12, the collection's purest classic pilot's watch.

Purchase your IWC timepiece from King Jewelers or our Nashville Boutique and enjoy exceptional peace of mind. IWC provides a standard 2-year warranty. You can easily extend that coverage by registering your watch through 'My IWC' after your purchase. This registration adds an additional 6 years, giving you a total of 8 years of warranty protection. Our team at King Jewelers is available to assist you with the simple registration process.