To round up the year, the Revolution editors share their personal picks for the watch that defined 2021. Revolution Australia editor-in-chief Felix Scholz goes big with IWC’s Big Pilot 43.
The Big Pilot — a mid-century design originally intended for military aviators — has been a key watch in IWC’s collection since the modern reference 5002 was released in 2002, a 46.2mm testament to purpose and design. The Big Pilot has lived up to its name since that time, and we’ve seen evolution and countless iterations. And while the model has been surprisingly versatile, one thing has remained constant — its size. Constant until earlier this year, that is, when IWC announced the Big Pilot’s Watch 43, a design that honors the aesthetic codes of the Big Pilot, but reframes what constitutes “big” to 43mm.
Analysis and reception of this slightly smaller Big Pilot have been generally positive and, I agree, the 43mm is a much more palatable dimension than 46mm in 2021. But the Big Pilot 43 hits me a little closer to home. My own journey into the rabbit hole of watches began around the time the Big Pilot was released — the early 2000s. And for me, the first steps were pilot’s watches. One of my first horological loves was the iconic Mark 11, and the lore of the early IWC Pilot’s Watches was a topic 20-something Felix dove deep into, with that passion continuing into IWC’s contemporary Pilot’s line, BP included. Now, looking back, I have a much better understanding of why I found late ’90s and early 2000s IWC so compelling. The brand, coming out of a spectacular return to form in the early ’90s, was finding its feet, balancing luxury and utility in design, and creating some truly memorable watches along the way. In 2000, IWC joined the Richemont family and, in 2002, Georges Kern became the youngest ever Richemont brand CEO, injecting a lot of spirit and energy into the brand in the process.
Somewhere along the way, Kern’s vision of IWC — informed no doubt by the ever-pervasive “big watch trend” that was dominant at the time — saw IWC’s watch collections becoming a touch too over the top for my tastes. New materials, complications and colorways might have been what was required, but it was not what I wanted from IWC.
In recent years, the pendulum has swung away from IWC’s era of excess into more restrained territory, and the Big Pilot 43 perfectly epitomizes this. In fact, the Big Pilot 43 pares the Pilot’s Watch back to the barest of essentials. In addition to 3.2mm of girth, this watch has shed the power reserve indicator, date and any other extraneous details in a fitting tribute to the original military designs. This watch is made for telling the time accurately and quickly. Of course, the famous Big Pilot crown is still on show, and screws down, which is appropriate for a watch with 100 meters of water resistance.
The back of the Big Pilot 43 stands out to me as well — and not just because of the caliber 82100, a lovely looking in-house movement with ceramic elements and 60 hours of power reserve. Not going to lie, I do kind of miss that seven-day tractor, but this is the right movement for the watch. But, mechanism aside, what really pleased me about the view was the quick-change system. It’s one of the smallest, but most significant changes in modern watch design for me — and such a welcome one.
This leads into the excellent strap choices. Of course, there’s the classic double-riveted calf, as well as a very nice steel bracelet. The real “aha” inclusion for me, though, was the rubber strap. These rubber straps keep the thematic rivets so they look the part, but they’re also quite radical. Pilot purists may scratch their heads at the worlds of water and the sky meeting, but the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. Not only does the Big Pilot 43 take the Big Pilot back to its roots, but the size decrease also makes it a viable option for anyone who isn’t built like The Rock.
Alongside this, with the quick-change straps and rubber options, IWC is acknowledging that people want a watch that can do it all. And this watch can do it all. There is absolutely no reason why this IWC Pilot needs to stay stuck in the skies.
