About a month ago, via the Instagram of its CEO, Christophe Grainger-Herr, IWC Schaffhausen casually released the Pilot?s Watch Chronograph Ref. IW377724 to the market. This new watch is a conglomeration of historical designs by the brand, taking its foremost influences from the legendary WWII-era Mark 11 military watch, the early-1990s IWC Doppelchronograph reference 3711; the Mark 11-influenced 1994 Fliegerchronograph Reference 3705/6; and also from more modern styles developed by the brand, most notably in the contemporary Mark XVIII and the accompanying ?Tribute to Mark XI? watches released last year. This might all seem a bit complicated, so to break it down, it?s basically a modern re-creation of a 1990s derivation of a 1990s watch inspired by the vintage Mark 11? simple, right" To offer you a brief history on each of these historical watches, let?s begin with the vintage model (pictured below). The original Mark 11 was a utilitarian pilot’s watch first developed for the German military in the late 1930s, but then brought into the fold by British military in the early 1940s. It was easy to read and quick to produce, it could take a beating like few other pieces of the time, and ? like so many other watches that have clung to soldiers? wrists and changed the world ? it has since been repackaged and re-imagined with luxury finishing for the modern market.

The original Doppelchronograph Ref. 3711 (“Double Chronograph” in English; pictured below vi...