Celebrating 75 years of the Mark collection, IWC has announced two new versions of the Pilot’s Watch Mark XX.
In the early days of aviation, pilots used astronomical navigation, using the positions of celestial bodies such as the sun or the moon to determine latitude and longitude. Since this process required a sextant and a stopwatch, a highly accurate watch was needed to measure the elapsed time. However, navigation watches at the time were inadequate in many respects. The strong magnetic fields produced by the radar screens activated during the landing phase created a risk of disrupting the watch’s punctuality. Therefore, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) requested the development of a new navigation watch.
Commissioned by the RAF in 1948, it was officially named the navigator wristwatch Mk. 11 – Stores Ref. 6B/346, now known as the Mark 11. Housed in a soft iron case, the caliber 89 was protected against magnetic fields. On the other hand, the dial was also very legible. A useful cockpit tool for pilots in many ways, the Mark went into standard production in 1993 with the Mark XII. Mark XVI was announced in 2006, Mark XVII in 2012 and XVII in 2016. Last year, the new member of the family, the Mark XX, was introduced. Celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Mark collection this year, IWC continues to expand the Mark XX with two new stainless-steel versions introduced in recent weeks.
The brand has added new models to series with new colors such as blue, green and black dials in 2022. This summer, two new versions of the Mark model is introduced with silver dials. The one ise available on a black leather strap and the other is on steel bracelet. Designed in 40 mm diameter cases, the novelty of these new Mark XX watches lies in their silver dials. Nearly all features of the models are similar to the Mark XX timepieces, excluding its dial color. There are a triangle marker instead of Arabic numerals at 12 o’clock, a date window at 3 o’clock, Arabic numerals and minute hands are typical of Mark models. As with the Mark models produced to date, the dial design is close to the original Mark piece. The stainless-steel case is water resistant up to 100 meters.
