By Jovan Krstevski
If you thought IWC had already squeezed everything out of its Le Petit Prince collabs, think again. IWC just dialed it up to eleven with a beast of a watch that’s part haute horology, part superhero gadget and all drama. Say hello to the new Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Le Petit Prince; now in bold blue ceramic with gold accents and a movement that’s doing absolute gymnastics.
This isn’t your average Big Pilot. Sure, it’s still a wrist-filling 46.5mm across and 16.18mm thick, but now the whole case is made from matte blue ceramic, which keeps the weight down and ups the cool factor significantly. Add a 5N rose gold crown and caseback ring into the mix, and you’ve got a combo that’s part cockpit, part crown jewel.
The dial keeps the signature sunray-brushed blue look we saw in the 2021 gold version, but here it leans into the modern feel. Gone are the old-school numerals, replaced with applied gold markers and lume that means business. Oh, and let’s not forget the tourbillon spinning right up at 12 o’clock, front and center like it owns the place (which, honestly, it kind of does).
Running the show is IWC’s in-house Calibre 51950, which is no slouch. It offers a robust 168 hour (7 day) power reserve, flying one minute tourbillon (crafted from just 82 parts and weighing under a gram!) and a perpetual calendar that tracks the date, day, month, year in four digits and even moonphases with the Little Prince chilling on his asteroid. For some extra flex, a solid gold rotor shaped like—you guessed it—Le Petit Prince.
This 100 piece limited edition is strapped to your wrist with a blue rubber strap and gold folding clasp and the whole package goes for a spicy EUR 118,000 / CHF 100,000.
