IW325505, SPITFIRE MARK XVI, SILVER DIAL

$2,700

An IWC Pilot's Watch Spitfire Mark XVI, ref. IW325505, in stainless steel at 39mm.

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Worth Reading

An IWC Pilot's Watch Spitfire Mark XVI, ref. IW325505, in stainless steel at 39mm. The silver dial carries large Arabic numerals, a triangle at twelve flanked by two dots, and sword hands, the pilot's layout reduced to its essentials. A date window sits at three. Beneath the solid caseback, a soft-iron inner case shields the automatic calibre 30110 from magnetic fields, a feature carried over from the cockpit instruments that inspired the line. At 11.5mm thick, the case slides under a cuff with ease. It is currently fitted to an aftermarket bracelet, with an aftermarket leather strap and the original IWC buckle alongside it.

IWC built its first pilot's watch in 1936, and from 1948 it supplied the Mark 11 to the Royal Air Force, a navigator's watch with a soft-iron inner case to protect it from the magnetic fields of the cockpit. It served for decades and became the template for nearly every pilot's watch since. IWC returned to the formula in 1994 with the Mark XII, followed by the Mark XV and, in 2006, the Mark XVI. The Spitfire name honours the British fighter of the Second World War. The Spitfire editions offered the Mark XVI with dials like this silver one, a lighter and more refined take on the instrument. It is the military watch, translated for a life that happens mostly on the ground.

We sourced it for the silver dial, which is the opposite of what you expect from a pilot's watch. In flat light it reads cool and almost white. Move into the sun and it warms, picking up a soft sheen that makes the black numerals look printed in ink. The layout underneath is pure instrument, with nothing on the dial that does not need to be there. At 39mm and 11.5mm thick, it wears with a precision many modern pilot's watches have lost as they have grown. It is a tool watch that happens to be beautiful, and that is rarer than it sounds. Curated with intent.