Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s classic story “Le Petit Prince” has enchanted children across the globe for over 70 years, thanks to its whimsical tale of a stranded pilot’s chance encounter with an alien boy searching the universe for a friend. Swiss maison IWC has immortalized the fable with their latest special edition timepiece, the Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph Edition “Le Petit Prince.”
True to the book’s heritage, the timepiece is a pilot’s watch, but what makes it truly shine is its unique star-jumping display. Each day, one of the seven stars on the inner-circle of the dial lights up in gold to symbolize the Little Prince’s voyage to a different planet. Those same seven stars are also engraved on the back with the name of each planet’s inhabitants. Another thing to note is that the stars don’t light up in order they’re placed on the dial. The gold star appears to jump at random throughout the week. The wearer can also determine where the star appears by turning the crown. An image of the Little Prince also appears on the back of the watch.
“Our partnership with the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation has already inspired us to create many Pilot’s Watch special editions,” says Georges Kern, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen. “And since the tale of ‘The Little Prince’ celebrated its 70th birthday two years ago, we’ve also dedicated a number of models to the title figure. This latest version not only has an impressive split-seconds mechanism but also a rather whimsical star element that might not be noticed at first glance.”
The Pilot’s Watch Double Chronograph Edition “Le Petit Prince” also features the undeniably complicated double chronograph mechanism, resulting in a watch that’s not only poetically resonant, but functions as a true pilot’s watch.
