On the opening day of Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026, IWC Schaffhausen announces a significant step in the evolution of its perpetual calendar watches.
Long associated with this highly complex complication, the brand presents a new generation system designed to make the perpetual calendar more intuitive to use, without compromising mechanical integrity.
At the centre of this development is a fully synchronised, gear-based architecture that allows both forward and backward adjustments via the crown. This approach simplifies operation considerably compared to traditional systems, where corrections can be restrictive and delicate.
At the same time, the moon phase display achieves a high level of precision, deviating by just one day after 1,040 years.
Displaying the full cycle of the Gregorian calendar on a mechanical watch has long been one of watchmaking’s most demanding pursuits.
At IWC, this story dates back over four decades, notably with the 1985 Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Chronograph IW3750, which introduced Kurt Klaus’s crown-operated perpetual calendar.
Building on Kurt Klaus’s legacy, the new Perpetual Calendar ProSet redefines how a perpetual calendar is set and operated.
Its fully synchronised design, protected by several patent applications, is entirely based on gears and makes adjusting the calendar forward and backward as easy and intuitive as setting the time.
This groundbreaking calendar innovation debuts in three editions of the Big Pilot’s Watch in 18-carat 5N gold, white ceramic and stainless steel, all powered by the IWC-manufactured 82665 calibre.
The Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar ProSet Ref. IW329602 offers a striking look, combining a 42 mm case in 18-carat 5N gold with a dark olive green dial.
The applied gold indices and numerals, and the gold-plated hands, are filled with Super-LumiNova. This watch is fitted with an olive green buffalo leather strap with an 18-carat 5N gold pin buckle.
The Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar ProSet Le Petit Prince Ref. IW339601 features a 43 mm white zirconium oxide ceramic case and a deep blue dial with a gradient finish.
The numerals and indices are printed in white on the dial, while the hands are rhodium-plated and filled with Super-LumiNova.
This watch is fitted with a white rubber strap featuring the EasX-CHANGE system.
The Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar ProSet Le Petit Prince Ref. IW329601 comes in a 42 mm stainless steel case and is paired with a five-link stainless steel bracelet.
The deep blue dial is complemented by rhodium-plated applied indices and numerals, while the hands are also rhodium-plated.
Both the appliques and the hands are filled with Super-LumiNova. This watch comes with an additional blue rubber strap which, thanks to the integrated EasX-CHANGE system, can be alternated with the metal bracelet quickly and easily, without any tools.
Both models feature stainless steel crowns and stainless steel case back rings with an engraving of “Edition Le Petit Prince”.
As a poetic reference to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s most famous novel, the rotor of the automatic winding system features a gold-plated medallion depicting the Little Prince on his asteroid.
Protected by a convex sapphire crystal, antireflective on both sides, the dial of the new Perpetual Calendar ProSet models retains its familiar look, while the internal mechanics have been completely redesigned.
Engineered for forward and backward adjustability, the Perpetual Calendar ProSet is built entirely from gears with multiple functional layers and flexible, extendable, and retractable fingers. This allows the calendar to be adjusted in both directions using a single crown position.
No separate corrector buttons, crown changes, or complicated setting menus are needed. Adjustments are made via the patented quick-correction function, moving the displays in precise daily steps.
IWC’s engineers also recalculated the reduction gear for the moon phase display, which now deviates from the moon’s actual orbit by just one day every 1,044 years.
The signature Double Moon shows the phase as seen from both northern and southern hemispheres.
Around midnight each day, the synchronised switching sequence advances the date, weekday, and moon phase. At month-end, the month display moves forward, and after twelve months, the year advances. The four-digit year display—a hallmark of IWC’s perpetual calendars—is located between 7 and 8 o’clock.
In months shorter than 31 days, the mechanical programme of the calendar comes into play. Adjustments are governed by a complex geometry across several layers within the programme wheel.
The month length wheel, shaped with elevations indicating each month’s length, triggers the extension of flexible fingers in shorter months. These fingers engage multiple teeth on the 24-hour wheel during the nightly switching sequence, ensuring the calendar jumps directly to the 1st of the next month.
At the end of February, the leap year wheel, completing one revolution every four years, indicates whether it is a leap year. This information is transmitted via a finger: extended in regular years, retracted in leap years.
To manufacture the intricate geometries of components such as the 24-hour wheel, programme wheel, month length wheel, and moon phase gears, all demanding exceptional precision, IWC uses the advanced LIGA process, a micro-structuring technique combining lithography, electroplating, and moulding.
The calendar module is integrated into the IWC-manufactured 82665 calibre, operating at 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour) and equipped with a nickel-phosphorus escapement and silicon hairspring.
The efficient Pellaton winding system uses movements of the oscillating mass in both directions to wind the mainspring, offering a 60-hour power reserve.
High-stress components, such as the automatic wheel and clicks, are made from virtually wear-free zirconium oxide ceramic.
The movement is finished with circular graining and Geneva stripes, visible through the transparent sapphire case back on all three new models.
All models are water-resistant to 10 bar (100 metres / 330 feet).
The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar ProSet Le Petit Prince in stainless steel (Ref. IW329601) is priced at CHF 38,700, while the white ceramic version (Ref. IW339601) is offered at CHF 41,200. The 18-carat 5N gold model (Ref. IW329602) retails at CHF 54,200. iwc.com
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