PILOT’S WATCH DOUBLE
CHRONOGRAPH EDITION “LE PETIT PRINCE”
Schaffhausen, 19 May
2015 – IWC Schaffhausen sends the new Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph Edition
“Le Petit Prince”, complete with an innovative jumping star display for the day
of the week, off on a journey. Every day, one of seven stars in the inner
circle of the dial lights up in gold to symbolize the visit of Antoine de
Saint-Exupéry’s little prince to a different planet. The same seven stars are
also engraved as a decoration on the back of the watch and include the name of
the inhabitant with whom the little prince is currently passing the time.
A king who rules over
a fictitious realm, a businessman who believes he owns the stars, a geographer
who never leaves his desk: having abandoned his own tiny asteroid in search of
a friend, the little prince meets various inhabitants of other planets who lead
strange lives. IWC Schaffhausen has taken this journey through the universe
from Antoine de Saint-Exupérys “The Little Prince” as a reason to crown the new
Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph Edition “Le Petit Prince” (Ref. IW371807) with
an enchanting mechanism. “Our partnership with the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Youth Foundation has already inspired us to create many Pilot’s Watch special
editions,” says Georges Kern, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen. “And since the tale of
‘The Little Prince’ celebrated its 70th birthday two years ago, we’ve also
dedicated a number of models to the title figure. This latest version not only
has an impressive split-seconds mechanism but also a rather whimsical star
element that might not be noticed at first glance.”
STARRY NIGHTS AND
DAYS
The midnight blue dial with its characteristic cockpit design
has a surprising feature: a jumping star display is arranged inside the faint
line of the circle at its centre. Each day of the week, this captivating day
display lights up a different star in glittering gold. However, the change does
not take place in any particular order: the gleaming golden star appears to jump at random
between the seven different positions on the dial. The stars punched out on the
dial symbolize the planets visited by the little prince. They are also
engraved in the same order on the back of the watch, together with the name
of their inhabitants: the king, the vain man, the drunkard, the businessman,
the lamplighter, the geographer and finally the rose. The little prince cannot
forget the latter and returns to her at the end of his odyssey.We also find a
playful indication of where the little boy with the wheaten hair happens to be
at the moment, as well as a portrait of the prince himself, on the reverse side
of the case. Incidentally, the owner of the watch decides which star on the
dial is illuminated on which day of the week by using the crown to make the
golden star jump to another position.
DOUBLE CHRONOGRAPH
READY FOR TAKE-OFF
The sophisticated chronograph split-seconds hand complication
is now licensed to fly in the Pilot’s Watch special edition “Le Petit Prince”.
Also known as a double chronograph, this mechanism presents watchmakers with a
challenge that is often underestimated. It has two stopwatch seconds hands
mounted one on top of the other which allow the owner to reliably record
intermediate times, even withinthe same minute. The Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph
Edition “Le Petit Prince” is a fascinating variant that combines all the
features of a watch designed for flying with an additional poetic element. Its
functions include automatic winding, the time of day, date, weekday in the
form of a jumping star display, small hacking seconds, chronograph with
aggregate time recording up to 12 hours, split-seconds function, sapphire glass
with anti reflective coating on both sides which is secured against drops in
pressure, as well as the soft-iron inner case found in IWC’s Pilot’s Watches as
protection against magnetic fields. The midnight blue dial underscores the
watch’s sporty yet elegant character while the Super-LumiNova®* coating on the
hands and appliqués guarantees excellent legibility, even in the dark. The
engraving on the case back makes it clear that only 1,000 examples of the watch
will be made. The Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph Edition “Le Petit Prince” is
supplied with a matte brown calfskin strap with decorative beige stitching.
Mechanical chronograph movement – Stopwatch function with
hours, minutes and seconds – Split-seconds hand for intermediate timing – Date
display – Day display in the form of a jumping star display – Small hacking
seconds – Soft-iron inner case for protection against magnetic fields –
Screw-in crown – Glass secured against displacement by drops in air pressure –
Limited to 1,000 watches
Movement:
Calibre: 79420
Frequency: 28,800 A/h / 4 Hz
Jewels: 29
Power reserve: 44 h
Winding automatic
Materials: stainless-steel case, midnight blue dial, hands
and appliqués coated with Super-LumiNova, gold-plated star display, matte
brown calfskin strap with decorative beige stitching, pin buckle in stainless
steel
Glass: Sapphire, convex, antireflective coating on both sides
Water-resistant: 6 bar
Diameter: 44 mm
Height: 17 mm
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