By Meor Amri Meor Ayob
Ever since 2006, IWC has dedicated a special series of watches to commemorate the famous pilot and author, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. In conjunction to the fateful day Saint-Exupéry was declared ‘missing in action”, IWC will be introducing the “Last Flight” edition of this series. On that day, 31 July 1944, Saint-Exupéry took off in an unarmed P-38 on his ninth reconnaissance mission from an airbase on Corsica and never returned.
Three new models will be unveiled using brown ceramic and a newly developed silicon nitride material.
The three versions differ by the metal choice for the crown, chronograph pushers and case back and also by the colour of the chronograph counters on the dial. The first version uses Titanium and dark chronograph counters limited to 1,700 units (centre picture). The second version blends the brown ceramic case with rose gold and limited to just 170 units, this model also features rose gold-coloured chronograph counters (on the right). The third version uses platinum for the crown, pushers, and case back and presents silver-coloured chronograph counters. With only 17 pieces, the last version is the most exclusive (left).
They are all mounted on dark brown calfskin leather with white stitches secured by a pin buckle in titanium, rose gold or platinum depending on the model.
All three models have same engraving on the case back: a portrait of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry with the inscription “The Last Flight”.
The watch is relatively large with a diameter of 46 mm. IWC’s in-house 89361 calibre movement is used in all 3 models. This self-winding movement with 68 hours of power reserve features a column-wheel chronograph with flyback function.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s last flight in 1944
I love sizeable watches and this latest set under the Saint-Exupéry Edition is very appealing. The choice of chocolate ceramic and dark brown calfskin leather gives it seamless beauty that is not often found in many watches. Out of the three, the rose gold version is the most poise of the lot. If given the opportunity, that is the one I would pick. For more info, please visit iwc.com
Meor Amri Meor Ayob – Contributing Editor
Meor Amri is a passionate watch collector from Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. Having bitten by the horology bug in 2010, he has written extensively about the watch scene and has assembled a large collection of watches (excessively!!) on his own free time. Read his articles here.
His blogs on the same subject are: Watch Collection Hobby & My Horological Photos
