New to the forum and IWC...help me choose my first Big Pilot

Hi All,

New to the forum and have been eyeing my first IWC. I am trying to choose between the following:

1.) Le Petite Prince 2016 (Navy Blue dial with stainless case)
2.) Beverly Hills Edition (Navy Blue dial with Polished Black Ceramic Case)
3.) Spitfire (Rose gold case with grey dial)

Help me choose!!!

Congrats on your decision to purchase a BP!

Can you give us more background information to your decision?

I.e. will this new BP be a daily wearer? Do you wear suits? Will this be in a rotation of other watches, if so what might be some of these? etc.

All three models are rather different - particularly the rose gold case. Which is superb but naturally more 'showy'.

Also, don't beat yourself up too much about the decision - think of it as 'which one shall i get FIRST' =)

Regards,
Thang

www.bigpilot.watch

I am biased :-)

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks for the replies and feedback guys. I work as an Engineer, so dress pretty casual for work. Shorts and t-shirt or polo, jeans and a t-shirt or button up, etc. I do like to occasionally get dressed up to go out to dinner with my wife. Like many others, I am sure putting on a nice time piece makes you feel good and more dressed up and sophisticated.

I currently have an older Heuer Monza I also wear occasionally. I had a Hublot King Power a few years back but I ended up selling it. I do really like the modern looks of some of the watches, skeleton dials, etc, but I also appreciate the true simplicity and "tool watch" aspect of the IWC and it's beauty. Of course if I had my choice, I would get various brands and have a huge collection, but just looking to add the next piece for now.

I really do like the blue dials, but I also really like the idea of the rose gold.

I know it's hard to say you want to buy a watch as an investment, but of course I would like to choose one that will also retain it's value relatively well if possible. In this case, I know the BH LE is only 250 pieces. But then again, these have been out for almost a year now, and are still not sold. If this was a popular Panerai or something for an example these would have sold out instantly. For a model like the rose gold that isn't limited or numbered, does anyone have any idea how many they will likely make?

Not sure if we are allowed to discuss prices or potential discounts on here? If not, then sorry I mentioned it. But if so, can anyone share their experience of what should be expected from an AD?

Appreciate the help and feedback!

Understood about discussing pricing. Thanks for the heads up.

Thanks for the helpful additional context.

Given that extra background information it sounds to me that it should be this one...

[](http://bigpilot.watch/database)

Reasons are:

• you're an engineer, so might appreciate the soft-iron inner cage of this particular model which ads anti-magnetic properties

• you dress casually. this watch is arguably the least dressy of the three but it still is a luxury time piece so works when dressed up too.

• you like blue

• you like the 'tool aspects' of a BP and its simplicity, well this one is closest to this spirit

Good luck!
Thang

I went to my local AD today at lunch. They have the rose gold and the BH LE in stock, but don't have the Petite Prince version.

My impressions:

While I love the blue dial and think the polished black ceramic is a cool material, and the fact that it's unique and a special edition, I just felt like it lacked something. It lacked wrist presence, and was somewhat subdued. Again, not a bad thing. The color combo I think is beautiful, but maybe someday when I have multiple BP's, then this would be a welcome addition. For my first I don't think it's the one.

I love the look and feel of the rose gold. I actually like heavy watches, another con of the ceramic, it's so light I hardly felt like I was wearing something (I know can be good in some ways). The rose gold was beautiful with the grey sunburst dial and was extremely heavy which I don't mind. Only downside to this one is almost double the price.

So now I guess I am considering the rose gold vs. the petite prince version. Does anyone know the weight comparison of each? Do they have all have the anti magnetic properties?

Appreciate the help everyone.

Mile2424,

• Both the Spitfire & Petit Prince models have the soft-iron inner cage providing extra anti-magnetic properties. The Rodeo Drive does not.

• It's little surprise the Petit Prince isn't at your AD... that model is so popular IWC can't churn them out fast enough and there's a noticeable shortage everywhere

• Weight comparison: Spitfire: 192 grams Petit Prince: 151 grams (not official numbers)

Regards,
Thang

[](http://bigpilot.watch/database)

thanks for the info and the comparison numbers. Do you know the weight of the BH LE as well?

Also to consider; the ceramic cased watch has a thicker bezel resulting in a slightly smaller dial compared to the steel and gold cased watches. You may notice that the power reserve sub dial is also a little smaller on the ceramic watch. These dimensions may (or may not) have something to do with the more subdued appearance of the watch. Part of what I love about the Big Pilot is that it is big and in your face, wall to wall glass. I just love the huge dial and how the seconds hand almost reaches to the edge.

Thang is correct. The Le Petit Prince BP is selling quicker than IWC can produce them. I have helped two people get one in the last couple of weeks but they were in standby. The Zürich boutique and my AD both received more pieces yesterday.... so they are back in the distribution chain.

The Rose Gold BP is going to remain a more rare piece and less will likely be produced.

You have a great challenge. Either choice will be a good choice.