Pilot vs B&R Vintage

Hello,

I am looking at purchasing a iWC Pilot's watch Chronograph 371701

That said, I am conflicted between this IWC Pilot's watch Chronograph 371701 and the Bell & Ross Vintage 126XL, black face.

Does anyone on here have experiences with either of, or both of these watches and can offer any quality, appearance on wrist and reliability comparison between the two.

Thanks.

Both great watches but

this is the IWC Official Forum and expect to hear nothing else but IWC.

Argiris

Pilot vs B&R Vintage

but....

The comparison might be favourable for IWC here

I remember a comparison between an IWC movement and a Vacheron Constantin movement here not long ago, it ended in about a tie.

The 3717 is a very nice watch, you can find a lot of testimonies on that here. I myself have one, and nothing to complain about.

Kind regards,
Paul, wearing steel VC Portuguese

some additional factors to consider

Hi mka,

With respect, I think you're misplaced with some of your criteria. Both watches will keep time. Therefore, the issue cannot be function, but more craft. And craft is more difficult to evaluate directly, but consider these issues:

1. how long has a company been around? Is there a value difference between 140 years and, say, 20 years?

2. how many watchmakers does a company have? Do they also produced many sophisticated examples of watchmaking --repeaters, tourbillons, perpetual calendars, rattrapantes, innovative technical mechanisms, etc?

3. how large is the repair service? a few persons or a large department, with parts going back for decades or even a century?

4. is there a market for vintage watches, and what is the likelihood that there may be some residual value to any given watch decades from now?

5. what is the "authenticity" of the product --is it based on a tradition and does it reflect a heritage? or is it something that is just an entrepreneur's idea of what is a good me-too design?

You may or may nor agree with some of these criteria, and others can debate some of the points. But to me there is something different between a watch company that in a past few years produces nice designs that follow a trend, and a company that is part of Swiss history and heritage, and has the strength of a organization, horizontally and vertically. And in IWC's case it means something to me that their military watches really are the result of a long and authentic military watch tradition.

As you can see, I do have strong views. But as I said, they both will keep good time, and you should pick the one that meets your own values.

Regards,
Michael

IWC, for sure

I haven't had the particular B&R you describe, but I did have a Vintage 123 for a while. Nice, but no IWC. The finish quality was nowhere near IWC's standards, nor was it nearly as accurate as my IWCs. To my eye the design of the 126XL is too busy and the case design is too chunky. There's just something more refined, elegant and timeless about IWCs. Yeah, it'll cost you more, but the 3717 will keep you happy longer.

IWC, for sure

thanks for the responses...

...is it possible to have a BIG PILOT style strap made for the 3717?