Watches of Switzerland is an Australian retailer of luxury watches established in 1997 and an official retailer for a number of brands. They were also the original distributor for IWC in Australia up until 2000 when Richemont acquired the brand. So, to celebrate its 20 years in business (see our interview with Watches of Switzerland here), they have teamed up with IWC to produce the Arabic numerals IWC Pilots Chronograph Watches Of Switzerland 20th Anniversary Limited Edition watch.
This isn’t the first time that Watches of Switzerland has teamed up with IWC to produce a special limited edition watch. They did the same for their 10th anniversary too, which culminated in the Watches of Switzerland Limited Edition Portuguese Chronograph. It was popular thanks to its unique chocolate brown dial, and it helped that it was exclusive to Watches of Switzerland with only 25 pieces produced.
They wanted something similar for their 20th anniversary, and they worked with IWC to create the model you see here. Recognizing the trend of vintage-inspired watches as well as the popularity of IWC’s Pilot’s watches in Australia, they decided to combine the two to create the Watches of Switzerland 20th Anniversary IWC Pilots Chronograph watch.
The brown alligator strasps IWC fake Watches of Switzerland 20th Anniversary IWC Pilots Chronograph watch is based on the popular IWC Pilots Chronograph ref. 3777. Case dimensions are identical, so it comes in a 43mm stainless steel case that measures 15mm thick. Prominent pushers and crown help make operation easy. Water resistance is also unchanged at 60m.
What has changed, however, is the dial. In place of the white hands and markings on the ref. 3777, the Watches of Switzerland 20th Anniversary IWC Pilots Chronograph has patina-colored hands and markers instead. Along with a vintage-looking brown Santoni leather strap, this gives the Watches of Switzerland 20th Anniversary IWC Pilots Chronograph watch an aged look that so many watch lovers and collectors seem to like these days.
Otherwise, the layout and configuration haven’t changed. The main hour and minute hands are still centrally located, as is the chronograph seconds hand, and you still have the 30 and 12-hour chronograph registers at 12 and 6 o’clock respectively. At 9 o’clock, you still have the running seconds in white.
Inside, the Watches of Switzerland 20th Anniversary IWC Pilots Chronograph is powered by the same IWC 79320 Caliber found in the ref. 3777. It is a robust, reliable self-winding chronograph movement that is based on the common Valjoux 7750. It beats at 4Hz and offers around 44 hours of power reserve.
To commemorate this special watch, the Watches of Switzerland 20th Anniversary IWC Pilots Chronograph comes with a commemorative case back that shows the watch’s number in the limited edition series. The case back also has the Watches of Switzerland logo and a special design that celebrates its 20th anniversary.
These charming replica watches that I think a lot of IWC fans, especially those who are also fans of the current vintage-inspired watch trend, will enjoy. They haven’t messed about with the classic good looks of the ref. 3777 and whatever little changes there are have been tastefully implemented. The only problem, however, is that there are only going to be 50 of them.
