The Low-Down

The bright light city has been having a bit of a moment recently, first with Zack Snyder and his zombie pals, and now IWC is in on the action, with the limited edition IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Edition “Las Vegas”, a Sin City-themed piece that brings the drama of roulette to the wrist.

IMHO

The homage to the game of chance is kept relatively subtle, which, given the fact that we’re talking about a 46.2mm Big Pilot, is probably a good thing. The caseback is engraved with a roulette wheel, while the dial side is surprisingly demure. The iconic design features a silver-plated dial, with black Arabic numerals and hands — though there’s so much Super-Luminova in the hands that they’re primarily white anyway. The famous seven-day power reserve indicator adds a hint of drama to the scenario with a red indicator and matching ‘danger-zone’ of one day worth of power. This indicator also adds a dash of texture by way of the concentric graining.

Behind the dial beats Schaffhausen’s reliable caliber 52110, the big 4 Hz movement offering seven days of power and featuring several ceramic components, along with IWC’s famous Pellaton winding system and a soft-iron inner cage for greater protection from magnetic fields.

The real Las Vegas tie in comes courtesy of the date wheel, which alternates between black and red as it cycles through the days. Traditionally this style of wheel is called a roulette wheel, but IWC kicked it up a notch by adding in a single green indicator on the first of the month. The orderly progression of days doesn’t leave much to chance, but it’s a clever execution of the concept and one that gives this already attractive Big Pilot an extra touch of something special.

The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Edition “Las Vegas” is limited to 250 pieces, and we’re willing to bet that quite a few of them will end up in Nevada.

Tech Specs

Movement: IWC-manufactured caliber 52110; Pellaton automatic winding; 28,800 vph; seven days power reserve.
Case and dial: Stainless steel case; 46.2mm by 15.6mm tall; water-resistant to 6 bar; silver dial.
Strap: Black calfskin strap.