From the responses in the new collectors forum watch thread, it appears that at least among the forum participants, there is a wide-spread longing for a classic IWC Pilot watch with roughly the following spec:
-Diameter around 40mm
-Magnetically shielded
-Not too thick (let's say max 12mm)
-In-house movement
-Center seconds
-No date
-Dial and hands styling cues taken from the MK XI
Technically, I think the challenge is that the current in-house movements are either too thick (the 80000-calibre family), too large (the 98000-calibre family), or both (the 50000-calibre family) to make a watch with a soft-iron inner case within the size specs mentioned above.
Re-introducing the 89-calibre based movement would solve this issue nicely. Just like the old 98-calibre was put to service in the modern Portuguese Hand Wound line.
It would make an ideal everyday casual watch. As much as I love the Big Pilot's Watch, the sheer size somewhat limits its versatility as an everyday watch for many of us. With the 89-calibre in-house movement produced and finished with modern IWC standards, I think the watch could be commercially feasible if priced roughly at the level of current Ingenieurs.
