IWC Big Pilot Buenos Aires Watch IWC5004-23
View Similar Items
IWC Big Pilot Buenos Aires Watch IWC5004-23
About the Item
- Creator:
- Case Material:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Circa 21st Century
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Southampton, PA
- Reference Number:Seller: 1984921stDibs: LU68212551452
IWC
One of Switzerland’s major luxury watch companies was started by an American who saw the potential of bringing Switzerland’s superb watchmaking into the modern age through industrialized manufacturing and high-precision interchangeable parts. The New Hampshire–born watchmaker Florentine Ariosto Jones (1841–1916), who founded International Watch Company — known today as simply IWC — in 1868, was interested in “combining all the excellence of the American system of mechanism with the more skillful hand labor of the Swiss.”
Setting up the company with another American watchmaker, Charles Kidder, in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, Jones used hydropower from the River Rhine for his plant’s machinery. Rethinking watch design would lead to one of IWC’s early successes: the Pallweber pocket watch. Based on an 1883 patent by Austrian watchmaker Josef Pallweber, the watch employed numbered disks for jumping hour and minute displays, making it a pioneer in digital timekeeping.
After Johann Rauschenbach-Vogel took over the watch manufacturer in 1880, four generations of his family led IWC into the 20th century. In 1905, Ernst Jakob Homberger and his brother-in-law Carl Jung — the famed Swiss psychiatrist — acquired IWC. Homberger bought out Jung’s holdings in 1929, and in the 1930s, the company introduced pilot watches, which were particularly robust and aimed solely at the civil aviation industry. These durable wristwatches were designed specifically to remain operational during extreme temperature shifts. (As blue watch dials are particularly hot right now, IWC's blue-dial Big Pilot is having a moment.)
The company still operates alongside the river where it was founded, having gained an international reputation over the past 150 years for its elegant designs and expert craftsmanship. Vintage IWC watches are prized by collectors — of whom there are many these days — and while the company continues to guard its attention to detail and quality, it has pushed its classic designs forward with modern innovation intended to stand the test of time.
IWC’s 2013 Ingenieur watch collection, with its precision based on an inventive constant-force mechanism, looked back to a 1955 Ingenieur model that featured a durable soft-iron inner cage as well as a 1976 update by leading Swiss watch designer Gérald Genta that encased its mechanism in a sleek steel case. IWC has also had a recent push toward sustainability, designing watches that are made to last a lifetime and beyond and earning the highest environmental ranking of any Swiss watch company in a 2018 report published by the World Wide Fund for Nature Switzerland (WWF).
Find vintage IWC wristwatches, Art Deco–style pocket watches and more on 1stDibs.
- MB & F Horological Machine No. 3 Sidewinder Rose Gold Leather Watch HM3Located in Southampton, PAThe watch to wear when you want ingenuity on your arm. This MB&F HM3 Sidewinder features a unique 'spaceship' case in 18K rose gold measuring 47 x 50 x 16 mm. You have a three-display layout: a half-circle showing the date indicated by a rotating disc, and two time-indicating cones displaying hours and day/night indications. The front side of the watch offers a full display of the machine's super finish. On the case back are two large ceramic bearings. Inside this timepiece is a 36-jewel Sowind-base three-dimensional engine with 304 components. The movement was designed by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht and Agenhor. This pre-owned MB&F Horological Machine No. 3 Sidewinder Rose Gold Leather Watch...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Wrist Watches
Materials18k Gold, Rose Gold
- Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Grande Complication Watch 26065OR.OO.D088CR.01By Audemars PiguetLocated in Southampton, PAWho can say no to this exquisite rose gold Grande Complication from Audemars Piguet? A rare gem, this Royal Oak Grande Complication ref. 26065OR.OO.D088CR.01 is a skeletonized wristw...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Wrist Watches
Materials18k Gold, Rose Gold
- Patek Philippe Vintage Carré-Tortue Watch 2488By Patek PhilippeLocated in Southampton, PAA unique piece to add to your collection is this unassuming yet highly sought-after Patek Philippe Carré-Tortue ref.2488 from the 1950s. It bears a 28mm square-turtle case in 18K yellow gold with a silvered dial and a thick crystal that gives depth to the watch. On its simple and unpretentious dial are thin gold baton indexes and hands, and a seconds sub-dial at 6. The top-quality, full-bridge manually-wound caliber 10-200 is behind this timepiece. The watch is worn on a black leather strap with a yellow gold tang buckle. This is a pre-owned Patek Philippe Carré-Tortue 18K Yellow Gold Square Watch...Category
20th Century Wrist Watches
Materials18k Gold, Yellow Gold
- Lacoste Capbreton Stainless Steel Watch 2010944By LacosteLocated in Southampton, PAThis is the Lacoste Capbreton watch, reference number 2010944. It is presented with a stainless steel case that measures 46 mm in diameter. The case is water-resistant to 50 meters ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Wrist Watches
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Bvlgari Octo Velocissimo Chronograph Watch 102116By BvlgariLocated in Southampton, PAThe simple yet complex look of this timepiece is also one of Gerald Genta's designs. The Bvlgari Octo Velocissimo ref.102116 features a 41mm-wide case fin...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Wrist Watches
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Breguet Classique Perpetual Calendar Watch 5327BB/IE/9V6By BreguetLocated in Southampton, PAIt's easy to see why this Breguet Classique is gaining in popularity among watch collectors. The Breguet Classique Perpetual Calendar Watch ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Wrist Watches
Materials18k Gold, White Gold
- IWC Big Pilot Stainless Steel Top Gun Edition WatchBy IWCLocated in Boca Raton, FLIWC Big Pilot Stainless Steel Top Gun Edition Watch Brand: IWC Model: Big Pilot Top Gun Edition Dial: Black dial with luminescent hands, date ca...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Wrist Watches
MaterialsSteel, Stainless Steel
- IWC Big Pilots Black Dial Automatic Steel Mens Watch IW500401By IWCLocated in New York, NYIWC Big Pilots 46mm Black Dial Automatic Steel Mens Watch IW500401 Brand new!! box papers unworn! incredible watch! free overnight shippinhg! shop wit...Category
2010s European Wrist Watches
MaterialsSteel
- IWC Stainless Steel Pilots Watch ChronographBy IWCLocated in Scottsdale, AZBrand: IWC Movement: automatic Function: hours, minutes, seconds, day, date, chronograph Case: 43mm round case, sapphire crystal, push/pull crown, smooth bezel Band: black IWC leathe...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Wrist Watches
MaterialsStainless Steel
- IWC Titanium Pilots Watch Mark XVIII HeritageBy IWCLocated in Scottsdale, AZBrand: IWC Movement: automatic Function: hours, minutes, seconds, date Case: 40mm round case, sapphire crystal, push/pull crown Band: black rubber strap, buckle Dial: black arabic Re...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Wrist Watches
MaterialsTitanium
- IWC Pilot Chronograph Watch Reference IW3706By IWCLocated in Roma, ITIWC Pilot Chronograph Fliegerchronograph Automatik IW3706 Reference number IW3706 Year of manufacture 2000 Diameter 39mm Material steel and black le...Category
Early 2000s Swiss Wrist Watches
MaterialsSteel
- IWC Le Petit Prince Big Pilots Monopusher Edition Watch IW515202 Box CardBy IWCLocated in Atlanta, GAIWC Le Petit Prince Big Pilots Monopusher Edition Watch IW515202 Box Card. Manual winding chronograph movement with 8 days power reserve. Stainless...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Wrist Watches