My very first new arrival for 2015... the IWC Pilot Chronograph ref. 3777. This is one model I have been going back and forth for many years and finally decided to pull the trigger last week.
In my mind, IWC is all about the Pilot watches. My first IWC was an Aquatimer 2000 with the black and yellow bezel. Though I loved the color combination, the watch felt like it was lacking something. Perhaps it was too "simple". So I sold it and purchased the chronograph version. Loved the watch, but being that it was a second hand watch, it came with a few imperfections that I just could not live with so I sold that too. Then I found the Ingenieur Plastiki (blue and white) which I still have and love... but deep inside something kept telling me that the Ingenieur could not be my only IWC, that I needed a Pilot model.
Their boxes could be nicer...
A few years ago, the Big Pilot was THE watch to own. I was finally ready to purchase one but when I went to see it in person it just did not feel right... the deployant buckle would have never fitted comfortably on wrist and back then it looked and felt huge (would probably feel just right today, funny how things change so quickly). So the Big Pilot, as beautiful as it is, was off the wish list.
My interest then switched to the Pilot Chronograph... the 3717 to be exact. I tried it on at the IWC Boutique in Beverly Hills in person and did not feel a connection (really love their Top Gun variants, but I cannot justify paying double for the ceramic case and manufacture movement). It sure looked gorgeous in photos, but in the flesh, it felt too small and unexciting. A good reminder that before you purchase ANY watch, you really should try it on in person to make sure it excites you as much in person as it excites you in photos. Then they released the 3777... the slightly bigger size and redesign of the dial got me wanting the Pilot Chronograph again. So after many months of deliberation, I finally decided to pull the trigger and yesterday I welcomed the IWC Pilot Chronograph 3777 to my family. Beautiful watch...
My first wrist shot with the 3777.
A very photogenic watch.
