IWC revisits The Little Prince with two unabashedly ambitious and complex Big Pilot’s references
It is often the simple things that are the most complicated. Anyone who’s read (and reread) Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince—a seemingly plainspoken tale that explores love, loss, and the weight of growing up—can attest to that. Unlike the novella, which masks its depth in childlike wonder, the latest Le Petit Prince-inspired watches from IWC announce their complexities right from the get go.
It must be said that IWC is no stranger to Saint-Exupéry’s legacy, having crafted collaborative timepieces with The Antoine de Saint Exupéry Youth Foundation for the better part of two decades. The latest watches—the Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Le Petit Prince and the Big Pilot’s Watch 43 Tourbillon Le Petit Prince—feature the collection’s signature midnight blue dials, finished in a striking radial sunburst that’s evocative of the celestial night skies depicted in the story.
This brilliant blue dial is elegantly tempered by a matte blue ceramic case on the Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Le Petit Prince. At 46.5mm, it’s apparent that the timepiece isn’t shy about making its presence known. That said, the matte ceramic case (the first time the material has been used in the collection), as well as the watch’s almost monochromatic visage, gives it an understated allure.
This effect is even more impressive when taking into account the watch’s inherent complexity. Boasting a tourbillon and a perpetual calendar to boot, the timepiece sports a dial awash with visual intrigue, rendered exquisitely by a tourbillon at 12 o’clock, and three subdials with gold-plated hands.
Completing the visual package is a perpetual moon phase display at six o’clock that substitutes the typical moon applique with a depiction of The Little Prince standing on an asteroid, a year display near 8 o’clock, and gold-plated numerals. Mechanically programmed to account for varying month lengths and leap years without manual correction until the year 2499, the perpetual calendar calibre 51950 offers an impressive seven-day power reserve.
The Big Pilot’s Watch 43 Tourbillon Le Petit Prince, meanwhile, accentuates the striking blue dial with the coolness and lustre of platinum. Its 43mm platinum case is substantial on the wrist, embellished by the gleam afforded by its high-polished bezel. Unlike its perpetual calendar peer, the timepiece features rhodium-plated hands and numerals, which lend it a rugged masculinity that aligns with its tool-watch origins. The tourbillon is positioned at six o’clock, punctuating the Arabic numerals and juxtaposed by the signature flieger triangle at 12 o’clock.
Powered by the IWC-manufactured calibre 82905, the watch boasts an 80-hour power reserve and features a rotor in the shape of The Little Prince on an asteroid. The same depiction is also present in the perpetual calendar, rendered, this time, in solid 18k gold.
Limited to 150 and 100 pieces respectively, The Big Pilot’s Watch 43 Tourbillon Le Petit Prince and the Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Le Petit Prince are complex expressions worthy of their inspiration.
