American watchmaker Florentine Ariosto Jones founded the “International Watch Co.” in Schaffhausen, in 1868, a company better known today as IWC. International is the operative word because he brought together progressive American production techniques with the skilled craftsmanship of traditional Swiss watchmakers. However, if you’re an IWC rookie, telling your Pilot’s from your Big Pilot’s or your Portugieser from your Portofino can be tricky. Here’s the Oracle Time beginner’s guide to every IWC model.
Pilot’s Watches
IWC’s most famous and widely lauded family of watches are their Pilot’s watches. Developed in the 1930s and 40s, they helped to define the primary features of aviation timepieces for civilians and in the military. Their unrivalled cool factor and heritage makes them a collector’s dream, earning themselves a closely following fanbase.
Pilot’s Watch Mark XX
The IWC Pilot’s Watch Mark XX showcases the bare essentials of the IWC Pilot’s watch design and is the spiritual successor to the legendary Mark XI, a model that saw active military use. A matte dial of a single block colour with high contrast Arabic numeral that put legibility at the fore. The ability for a pilot to glance at their watch and instantly be able to read the time is vital to aviation. That’s because, historically, taking accurate measurements of time intervals assists with navigation.
The Mark XX has a stainless steel case measuring 40mm in diameter with a sweeping, round design and a fluted crown. Inside, the Mark XX houses the calibre 32111, an automatic movement with a fantastic 120-hour power reserve. Interestingly, despite black and white being the traditional colourway, the Mark XX is also available in green and blue editions.
Model: Pilot’s Watch Mark XX
Ref: IW328202
Case/Dial: 40mm stainless steel case, black dial, with 100m (10 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 32111, automatic, 120h power reserve
Strap: Stainless steel bracelet
Price: £5,500
Big Pilot’s Watch
While the Big Pilot’s Watch and Pilot’s Watch Automatic share the same core design principles, the Big Pilot’s Watch introduces a number of features that make it much more of a collector’s icon. Namely, the oversized crown that gives the model its name, the general rule of thumb is if an IWC has this style of crown it’s a Big Pilot’s, if not then it’s just a Pilot’s. The purpose of the oversize crown with its fluted edges is to provide good grip while wearing thick aviation gloves.
At the same time, the Big Pilot’s is also a physically larger watch at a diameter of 46.2mm, which again helps with legibility as the whole display is bigger, including the days of the week subdial exclusive to the Big Pilot’s.
However, that huge size leads to the issue that it’s impractical to wear for a lot of men – not so much an issue for pilots as the fashion was to wear your timepiece on the outside of your clothing meaning the size of your wrists was less important. On top of that it’s also £10,500, meaning it’s over twice the cost of the Pilot’s Watch Automatic, hence the somewhat cult nature of its following. However, as of 2021 IWC do offer a smaller 43mm version sans days of the week that is more wearable.
Model: Big Pilot’s Watch
Ref: IW501001
Case/Dial: 46.2mm stainless steel case, black dial, with 60m (6 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 52110, automatic, 168h power reserve
Strap: Black calfskin
Price: £10,500
Pilot’s Watch Chronograph
While maintaining excellent levels of legibility is important for a pilot’s watch, you can get a lot more utility from a chronograph despite having a substantially busier dial. That’s because they allow you to time specific intervals with even greater accuracy.
The majority use the 68385 calibre automatic chronograph movement which has a 46-hour power reserve. However, there are a variety of Pilot’s Watch Chronographs in the IWC range, including multiple colourways and special editions. Those include the very popular ceramic versions such as the pristine Lake Tahoe.
Model: Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41
Ref: IW388104
Case/Dial: 41mm stainless steel case, green dial, with 100m (10 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 69385, automatic, 46h power reserve
Strap: Stainless steel bracelet
Price: £6,800
Pilot’s Complications
Pilot’s Complications is a title we have given to a handful of IWC Pilot’s Watches (Big and otherwise) that don’t really fit in any category because there’s only and couple scattered across the range. The most common of them is the haute horological Big Pilot’s Perpetual Calendar. It’s one of the most prestigious complications in watchmaking and as such represents the highest benchmark of the IWC Big Pilot’s.
The Perpetual Calendar is joined by the Shock Absorber that was recently relaunched in a special edition dedicated to Toto Wolff and the Pilot’s Watch Timezoner. Each has their own unique specialisation ranging from telling time around the globe to protection for 30,000 G accelerations.
Model: IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar
Ref: IW503608
Case/Dial: 46.2mm stainless steel case, green dial with 60m (6 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 52615, automatic, 168h power reserve
Strap: Green rubber strap
Price: £28,700
Top Gun Special Editions
While the name Top Gun instantly brings to mind Tom Cruise’s iconic flick and its upcoming and severely delayed sequel, outside of the movie-verse Top Gun is actually a real Navy pilot training school in the USA. IWC has been the official watch provider of the flight school since 2007, producing sleeker and stealthier variations of their wider Pilot’s watches to create a subcollection.
This model is a special version of the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph with a black ceratanium case and grey markings that make it incredibly tactical and stealthy. Similar elements can be found across the subcollection.
Model: Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Top Gun Ceratanium®
Ref: IW388106
Case/Dial: 41mm Ceratanium® case, black dial, with 100m (10 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 69385, automatic, 46h power reserve
Strap: Black rubber
Price: £10,700
Spitfire Special Editions
It’s not just the American military that has an IWC connection as IWC have been producing watches for the RAF of Britain since 1947 and the Mark XI. In celebration of that heritage, they created the Spitfire subcollection. It’s a far more vintage orientated with heritage inspiration taking the lead in features such as beige lume.
The most recent addition to the Spitfire subcollection is the Big Pilot’s 43 Spitfire, combining the retro aesthetics of the collection with their most recent take on the Big Pilot’s. It’s a real collision of worlds that works incredibly well.
Model: Big Pilot’s Watch 43 Spitfire
Ref: IW329702
Case/Dial: 43mm bronze case, green dial with 100m (10 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 82100, automatic, 60h power reserve
Strap: Green buffalo leather
Price: £7,900
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Special Editions
IWC are the official wristwatch sponsor of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team and have been collaborating on wristwatches for more than half a decade at this point. How time flies. These watches are easily identifiable with their high contrast displays that make liberal use of the Petronas blue colour. In the current collection is the Pilot’s Watch Mark XX, a couple of chronographs and the Toto Wolff Shock Absorber. Previously it’s also included haute horological complications like perpetual calendars.
Model: Pilot’s Watch Mark XX Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team
Ref: IW328210
Case/Dial: 40mm titanium case, black dial with 100m (10 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 32111, automatic, 120h power reserve
Strap: Petronas green rubber strap
Price: £5,600
Le Petit Prince Special Editions
Le Petit Prince is IWC’s third Pilot’s watch subcollection and is by far the most whimsical, inspired by the French fairy-tale of the same name. In the story, penned by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, an interplanetary prince visits irrational grown-ups across the cosmos. The princely aspiration of the collection makes it the most refined and elegant, a fact demonstrated by the royal blue dials.
This version is the Le Petit Prince Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon edition, featuring two of horology’s most prestigious complications. It’s a reimagining of the 2018 version in the shiny blue of Le Petit Prince, oozing luxury.
Model: Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Le Petit Prince
Ref: IW504901
Case/Dial: 46.5mm ceramic case, blue dial with 100m (10 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 51950, automatic, 168h power reserve
Strap: Blue rubber
Price: Price on request, limited to 100 pieces
Portugieser
IWC’s Portugieser collection first appeared in the 1930s, when a pair of Portuguese gentlemen asked for a wristwatch that housed a large pocket watch movement. In order to accommodate the movement, the watch itself had to be larger than any dress watch IWC produced at the time and arguably helped to start the trend towards the larger timepieces we see today.
Portugieser Automatic
The Portugieser Automatic is the most quintessential version of the Portugieser and places its signature features at the forefront of the design. Those features being the large case, at a diameter of 42.3mm, a railway minute track and thin feuille hands. Each is an element inspired by vintage pocket watches from the 1930s.
There’s also a wide variety of Automatics available with multiple dial colours and case materials on offer. Plus, if you like your dress watches at a more modest size, there is a 40mm version as well, although the smaller dimensions mean the date subdial no longer fits.
Model: Portugieser Automatic
Ref: IW500712
Case/Dial: 42.4mm 18k white gold case, horizon blue dial, with 50m (5 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 52011, automatic, 168h power reserve
Strap: Blue calfskin
Price: £23,700
Portugieser Chronograph
Building on the basic principles of the Portugieser, the chronograph models introduce a sportier complication. The classic railway track that only features intervals of 1 minute is replaced by one with intervals of 1 second to allow greater precision for the chronograph. However, the feuille hands are still present, as is the simple structure of the case, which for this model measures 41mm in diameter.
The addition of the chronograph adds a little more personality to the watch, turning it into a stylish driving number. There are a few colourways available, but this rich burgundy edition is awesome.
Model: Portugieser Chronograph
Ref: IW371616
Case/Dial: 41mm 18k white gold case, horizon blue dial, with 30m (3 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 69355, automatic, 46h power reserve
Strap: Blue calfskin leather
Price: £17,600
Portugieser Yacht Club
Unlike most of us who try to slim down when we head to the seaside, the Portugieser Yacht Club actually has a beefier design built to tackle the bumps a watch is more likely to encounter on a boat or at the beach. Primarily that’s seen in the 44.6mm diameter of its case and built-up crown and pusher guard.
It’s a well named watch because the yacht club is the perfect locale for it. With 60m water resistance it’s not a dedicated dive watch and it doesn’t have the specialised yachting complication the regatta timer, but in bi-colour it’s a natural status piece.
Model: Portugieser Yacht Club Chronograph
Ref: IW390702
Case/Dial: 44.6mm stainless steel case, silver-plated dial, with 100m (10 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 89361, automatic, 68h power reserve
Strap: 18k 5N gold and stainless steel bracelet
Price: £17,800
Portugieser Calendars
With a heritage that draws inspiration from pocket watches, it’s little surprise that the larger dimensions of the Portugieser make it the perfect watch for calendar complications including annual, perpetual and secular calendar varieties. The secular calendar, known as the Eternal Calendar, is particularly special as it has the world record for the most accurate moonphase on a wristwatch and won’t need adjustment until the year 4000 — not because of a mechanical fault, but because humans haven’t mapped the calendar beyond that point.
Zooming out from the movement at the core of the IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar, we come to the case and dial. The watch has a 44.4mm diameter x 14.9mm thick case made from platinum with a double-box glass sapphire crystal. Glass is an important material because the white lacquer dial is also made from it, giving certain elements like the Double Moon™ phase a translucent property.
Model: Portugieser Perpetual Calendar
Ref: IW505701
Case/Dial: 44.4mm platinum case, white dial with 50m (5 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 52640, automatic, 168h power reserve
Strap: Black alligator leather
Price: Price on request
Portugieser Tourbillon
The Portugieser Tourbillon references are much as you’d expect — versions of other Portugieser models with the addition of a tourbillon. There’s a simple automatic version, but more interesting is this retrograde chronograph.
Not only does it feature a chronograph but it’s also one of the few Portugiesers with a retrograde date function, which operates in a linear fashion instead of a circular dial or date window. It also has substantially thicker pushers than the other chronos in the collection.
Model: Portugieser Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph
Ref: IW394006
Case/Dial: 43.5mm platinum case, white dial with 30m (3 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 89900, automatic, 68h power reserve
Strap: Blue alligator leather
Price: Price on request, limited to 50 pieces
Portofino
IWC’s Portofino collection shares some similarities to the Portugieser in that it’s also inspired by vintage pocket watches and has signature feuille hands. However, the collection broadly focuses on a more refined and elegant appearance inspired by the warmth of the Mediterranean. The collection’s name comes from Portofino, a painfully beautiful port on the Italian coast near Genoa.
Portofino Automatic
At the simple end of the spectrum is the Portofino Automatic. It’s a classic time and date model with a gender-neutral design that makes it a very popular dress watch among men and women. The Roman numerals add a sense of refinement whether in steel or gold, depending on the reference.
There are a wide number of case sizes, materials and dials on offer, from classic steel and silver dial colourways to olive green pieces in keeping with modern trends.
Model: Portofino Automatic
Ref: IW356501
Case/Dial: 40mm stainless steel case, white dial, with 30m (3 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 35111, automatic, 42h power reserve
Strap: Black alligator leather
Price: £4,300
Portofino Chronograph
The Portofino Chronograph is a staple of the collection, presenting the often sporty complication in an elegant light. The most common version is the 42mm diameter reference with a day-date window and small seconds in addition to the chronograph central seconds hand, 30-minute timer and 12-hour timer.
However, last year, IWC introduced a smaller, more wearable version sans small seconds and day-date. At 39mm with some nice colours, they’re an interesting alternative to IWC’s Pilot’s pieces, and really you could pick up both a Portofino and a Big Pilot’s Watch for an incredibly neat two-piece collection.
Model: Portofino Chronograph 39
Ref: IW391405
Case/Dial: 39mm stainless steel case, green dial with 30m (3 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 79350, automatic, 44h power reserve
Strap: Green alligator leather
Price: £5,500
Portofino Complications
The Portofino collection is one of IWC’s most diverse and there are a wealth of complications represented in the range. There’s the Perpetual Calendar, Complete Calendar, Moonphase, Day & Night Indicator and Pointer Date. For the most part they follow the same pattern of being available in steel and rose gold with sizes around 40–41mm.
The Perpetual Calendar is powered by the 82650 automatic calibre with 60-hour power reserve. It features hours, minutes, seconds, days, months, date and moonphase.
Model: Portofino Perpetual Calendar
Ref: IW344602
Case/Dial: 40mm 18k 5N gold case, white dial with 50m (5 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 82650, automatic, 60h power reserve
Strap: Blue calfskin
Price: £29,600
Ingenieur
The Ingenieur is one the most commonly forgotten about and underrated collections in IWC’s stable of watches. At least, that used to be the case until IWC gave it a full revamp in 2023 and brought it back into the limelight where it belongs. The Ingenieur was originally designed for IWC by legendary watchmaker Gerald Genta, giving it the same pedigree as the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak or the Patek Philippe Nautilus.
Ingenieur Automatic
The Ingenieur Automatic brings back a lot of the 1970s charm that was lost on some of the editions that IWC has launched in the intervening years. The return of the 70s style is most noticeable in the bezel, which has the five visible screws that have helped define the watch. In the past they were just there for the look of the thing, serving no technical purpose and randomly placed. Now however, they actually secure bezel to case ring.
The standard edition has a 40mm case in steel and features a textured, monochromatic, checker board dial available in silver, white, green or black. In 2025 IWC expanded the range with new materials including gold and ceramic, as well as introducing new sizes like 42mm.
Model: Ingenieur Automatic 40
Ref: IW328902
Case/Dial: 40mm stainless steel case, white dial with 100m (10 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 32111, automatic, 120h power reserve
Strap: Stainless steel
Price: £11,100
Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar
While Gerald Genta is credited with the design of the Ingenieur, when it comes to IWC’s perpetual calendars the more famous name is Kurt Klaus. Therefore, the creation of the Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar is the combination of designs from two legendary figures in IWC’s history.
In terms of design, the large, lumed indexes would take over an automatic, but here the perpetual calendar subdials actually cut them off so that only those at 11 – 1 remain whole. This leaves the subdials enough room to actually show the various calendar entries, with days at 9 o’clock, date at 3 o’clock and month / moon phase at 6 o’clock. It’s a layout we’re more used to seeing with chronographs, meaning that IWC have seemingly disguised the high complication as something more mundane and, let’s be honest, more thematically suited to the steel case of sports watch.
Model: Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar 41
Ref: IW328902
Case/Dial: 41.6mm stainless steel case, blue dial with 100m (10 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 82600, automatic, 60h power reserve
Strap: Stainless steel
Price: £32,000
Aquatimer
IWC are best known for their pilot’s watches but that doesn’t mean they haven’t also been producing diving watches for a long time as well. Their dive watch collection, the Aquatimer, is over 50 years old.
Aquatimer Automatic
With water resistance of 300m, the Aquatimer is an underrated competitor to many industry standard dive watches. It’s well sized at 42mm, making it big but not ridiculously huge. It also shows how much DNA pilot’s watches and dive watches share, as both rely on instantly readable dials. To better achieve this legibility underwater, IWC have used plenty of lume on the oversize hands and indexes.
Model: Aquatimer Automatic
Ref: IW328803
Case/Dial: 42mm stainless steel case, black dial with 300m (30 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 32111, automatic, 120h power reserve
Strap: Stainless steel bracelet
Price: £6,000
Aquatimer Chronograph
The Aquatimer Chronograph uses the same case shape as the Automatic version but at an increased size of 44mm, so it sits alongside the bigger dive watches out there. Most notably, it introduces a chronograph complication to the mix. Also, across the handful of references, it displays a few alternative material options including this bronze ‘Darwin’ special edition.
Model: Aquatimer Chronograph Edition “Darwin”
Ref: IW379503
Case/Dial: 44mm bronze case, black dial with 300m (30 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 89365, automatic, 68h power reserve
Strap: Black rubber
Price: £9,100
Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar
The Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month was originally developed as a collaborative tie in to the DC Universe Aquaman films. It measures 49mm in diameter and is made from Ceratanium, IWC’s propriety material that combines structural properties of titanium and the scratch resistance of ceramic. Ironically for a watch dedicated to a sub-aquatic world with a dive watch style, it only has 100m water resistance.
You’ll likely have noticed in the name of the watch the phrase “Digital Date-Month”, it’s worth clearing up that this watch is not actually digital or electronic in anyway. The term Digital Date-Month is simply referring to the fact that the date and month functions are both given in numeric form on discs that rotate through static windows. As opposed to a hand rotating to point at the relevant markers in analogue fashion.
Model: Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month
Ref: IW379406
Case/Dial: 49mm Ceratanium® case, black dial with 100m (10 bar) water resistance
Movement: Calibre 89802, automatic, 68h power reserve
Strap: Black rubber
Price: £49,500
Discontinued Watches
Da Vinci
IWC’s Da Vinci collection is one of their fastest evolving, a place where they explore more daring concepts and non-traditional designs, drawing inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci’s works. In the past, they’ve experimented with tonneau cases and even quartz mechanisms. Today, it remains a melting pot of concepts, tending to favour feminine aesthetics with a mix of jewels and high complications.
Da Vinci Automatic
As with the majority of IWC’s collections, the Automatic is the most quintessential version. It has the domed crown and large articulated strap horn lugs that are the only consistent feature of the Da Vinci in its many forms. Released in 2018, this version features a round case, gem-set bezel and circular date window at 6 o’clock. It houses the calibre 35111, an automatic piece with 42-hour power reserve.
Da Vinci Complications
Aside from the Automatic, the modern Da Vinci collection is made up of a handful of high complication models. There are three moonphases, a perpetual calendar and this watch: the Tourbillon Retrograde Chronograph. It has a bold open heart tourbillon at 6 o’clock, balanced at 12 by a chronograph subdial. Bridging between the tourbillon and subdial is a retrograde date function. It’s powered by the automatic calibre 89900.
Oracle Time