Pilot's Watch Automatic Black Aces

In Context

At 41 mm it is sized to the current mainstream: 40 mm is the median across every watch measured in this catalogue. At 11.4 mm thick it is about average for a modern wristwatch. The case back is closed, so the movement stays out of sight, and the sapphire crystal will resist everything short of deliberate abuse. 60 m covers rain and hand-washing comfortably; it is not a watch to swim in.

The movement winds itself from the motion of your wrist. 72 hours of reserve puts it well past a weekend — several days off the wrist and it is still going. At 28,800 vph the seconds hand advances 8 times a second.

IW3269-05 is one of 3 executions of the IW3269 base reference. Underneath they are the same watch; what separates this one is a white dial and a luminova case.

From the 32000 family IWC introduced in 2019 to sit below the 52000 calibres. A bidirectional pawl-winding system does much the same job as a Pellaton with fewer parts, and the escape wheel and pallet lever are made of silicon — the first time IWC used the material there — which resists wear and needs no lubrication.