Today, the brightness of the Mark XII stars has decreased.
Just an underestimated watch, but this was the first IWC that has got five stars by Chronos testing at 1995. A perfect result for a perfect IWC Pilots Watch of that time.
And, at least I, can´t find any disadvantages nearly twenty years later !
But could be that owners of modern Pilots Watches can find some ?
Regards
HEBE
Nothing to add
I can't find any disadvantages to my mark xvii lpp except that it keeps my other watches from getting worn much...
It looks great indeed. It has a Jaeger LeCoultre movement, if I remember well. Wasn't it considered a bit frail? But possibly it doesn't show in daily use. The only disadvantage I can see is that it is a bit small for my taste. I would prefer the Mark XVII, quite a bit bigger while not a giant, probably a perfect size for a watch that must be practical. I learned to respect the 30110 movement and really like the triple date, making reading the date simple by comparison with its neighbours.
Kind regards,
Paul
I second that!
My Mark XII gets quit some wrist time. My wife wears her lady mark XII from time to time... just a great watch!
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Very nice but a little bit too small for me, even the bigger successor was too small, but my entrance into IWC. Still miss it a little. The design was really classic and puristic.
Indeed - an all time classic.
And for those that want something similar ( but feel the need for a larger watch) - the heritage of the original MK's live on in the CF3!
Beautiful, beautiful iconic IWC! There is not a thing that is out off place or redundant about that design.
For me, the brightness of my newly acquired Mark XII has only decreased in the sense that the Pt case needs some polishing to get it's original shine. On the other hand, I kind of like the subtle look it has now.
I'm really looking forward to the CF3 delivery. I like the clean look of the MK Xll but it would be a little small for my wrist. Still, it looks very classic in the pics.
Unless I am misreading this thread, there seems to be an attempt to compare the Mark XII with the the CF Pilot. I do not see how they can be compared.
The Mark XII is a good follow up of the military Mark 11 and the civilian Ref 2612, pilot/navigator watches, which were designed for celestial navigation and dead reckoning navigation. The purpose of these watches was to measure time - hours, minutes and seconds - very accurately over the length of a mission, and to withstand the rigorous conditions of the miitary cockpits of the 1950s.
The CF3 is a Pilot's Chronograph. Chronographs (with small seconds dial) can also be used for dead reckoning navigation (when navigation is less precise), but are inadequate for celestial navigation.
A chronograph in the cockpit was, and in many cases still is, used to measure short period of time, typically as low as 45 seconds but rarely exceeding 2/3 minutes, and only during specific parts of an IFR flight, e.g. holding patterns, and non-precision approaches.
The CF Pilot is IMHO a very good rendition of a traditional Pilot's Chrono from the 1940s up to the 1970s, when electronics started to "take over" aviation.
I apologise if I bored you with too much aviation jargon.
I liked the watch so much, I had to buy two of them ;-)
I recall a friend of mine from Zurich called the Mark XII at the time "the blueprint for the basic fine Swiss watch". I thought then and I think now that he was right.
Antonio, I can promise that I had absolutly no intention, to compare with anything, especially not with the CF3 !!!!!!
Because, I thought it could be interesting to see such an old test in retrospect.
While cleaned up a lot of papers during the weekend, I found this old Chronos test and after reading it again since many years, I decided to create this post, nothing else !!!!
Funny, how missunderstandings are be generated ?!
Regards
Heiko
Yes, this watch is worth to own more than just one :-)
Hi Heiko. It was not your post that generated my reply. There is nothing in your post comparing the Mark XII with the CF Pilot.
It is indeed funny how misundertstandings are generated. :-)
Hi Heiko,
You are asking for what you call a disadvantage in the Mark XII.
I have a minor one, and it is the same I find in the CF Pilot - the date window. The day of the month is unnecessary flight information and clutters the dial.
I realize, however, that the Mark XII and the CF Pilot were designed for the general public, not to be a pure "flight instrument", just to emulate one. Not having a date window would affect sales.
Hebe, are those three yours, plat, mellow yellow and standard, if so, nice little collection in great shape. Is the Saab in Ti or steel?
The SAAB is Ti.
One of 3 special Titanium editions (SAAB, EF, GL) without the soft iron inner case.
Regards
HEBE
That is indeed an interesting aspect, Antonio.
At that time, as the Mark XII was launched, a watch must have a date, from my point of view.
Maybe, the influence of Portugieser and pocket watches has changed my taste very much.
Today I prefer watches without date and handwind.
If I could choose today, I would take a Mark XII without date, for sure.
Hebe, thanks for the answer. Since the Ti version has no AM properties it begs the question does a plat version need AM inner case back, I was thinking that platinum is a very dense metal and it may shield magnetism as the result.
Good description Michael, but surely it should refer to the Mark 11 ??
