Bronze Copilot

IWC is bringing something new to the field of traditional pilots’ watches: the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Spitfire with a bronze case, a new manufacture caliber and an attractive price. Could this be IWC’s best pilots’ watch yet?

- Jens Koch

— IWC revised its collection of Spitfire pilots’ watches in 2019. The principal new additions are the bronze models and the less costly manufacture calibers for the three-handed watch and the chronograph. IWC always combines its bronze cases with dark green dials. The Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Spitfire, our test watch, encases a more affordable manufacture chronograph movement, Caliber 69, which has never before ticked inside an IWC Pilot’s watch. Our first impression: the design is convincing. The bead-blasted bronze case and the green dial harmonize well. Together with the dark brown strap and its contrasting colored stitching, the result is a retro look that works well for a pilots’ watch, although bronze is a material that’s usually reserved for the cases of retro divers’ watches.

The military triangle with two dots at the 12, as well as the indexes at 3, 6, and 9, are coated with luminous material in the same bronze color as the case. The hands have a similar tone, but their material looks more like pink gold, and they have polished surfaces rather than the matte look of the bead-blasted case. The green dial is so dark that it appears black in many instances, but this is less bothersome than the blue anti-reflective coating on the crystal. Nonetheless, neither of these features significantly detracts from the essentially successful design.

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