This article was originally published in the September/October 2022 Issue of the WatchTime print magazine.

Over the years, IWC has become almost synonymous with pilot watches. The Swiss brand?s current squadron of horological aces is divided into a ?Classic? segment (with the Heritage and Spitfire models), ?Performance Materials? (with Top Gun, Pantone and various other special editions) and ?Saint-Exupéry? (with Le Petit Prince and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry models). In other words, customers can, for example, choose among the classic, 40-mm Mark XVIII in stainless steel with black dial and matching leather strap (Ref. IW327009), a heritage Mark XVIII in titanium with brown leather strap (IW327006), a 39-mm bronze pilots? watch (IW326802) in the Spitfire segment, a 41-mm ceramic Mark XVIII Top Gun Edition ?SFTI? (Ref. IW324712), and a 40-mm Mark XVIII ?Le Petit Prince? Edition with stainless-steel case, blue dial and brown leather strap (Ref. IW327010). Think of it like the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk made for the Army, the Sea Hawk for the Navy, the Jayhawk for the Coast Guard and the elusive Stealth Hawk for the SEALs ? same airframe, different purpose.
From a consumer?s point of view, more choice usually is an advantage, but it is worth noting that every material has its unique characteristics. The most common option, stainless steel, for example, is comparatively easy to work with; it allows different surface treatments and is generally quite resistant to ...