IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Marks 140 Years of Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz is celebrating its 140th anniversary in 2026, and IWC Schaffhausen is marking the occasion with a limited-edition Big Pilot’s Watch. The Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar ProSet 140 Years Mercedes-Benz marks this milestone with one of IWC’s latest cutting-edge developments: a perpetual calendar that can be adjusted both forward and backward through a single crown position. 

The collaboration between Schaffhausen-based watch brand and the Swabian carmaker dates back more than two decades. IWC became a partner of Mercedes-AMG in 2004 and has been the Official Engineering Partner of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team since 2013. Over the years, the partnership has resulted in numerous special editions, as well as joint projects connecting watchmaking, automotive engineering and motorsport. The new Big Pilot’s Watch takes this shared history into a watch limited to 140 pieces, with each example representing one year of Mercedes-Benz innovation. Choosing a perpetual calendar that displays the date, day, month, four-digit year and leap year until 2100, is a fitting choice for an anniversary that looks firmly to the future. It also underscores IWC’s technical expertise in mechanical calendar making, a field the manufacture helped redefine in 1985 when Kurt Klaus introduced his ingenious perpetual calendar, the Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Ref. 3750, renowned for its intuitive operation and elegant mechanical architecture.

Pilot's Aesthetic with an Elegant Touch

Water-resistant to 100 meters, the 42mm stainless-steel case combines brushed and polished surfaces and frames a black dial with solid-gold appliqués, the signature Arabic numerals and gold-plated hands. A white minute track provides a crisp contrast and reinforces the instrument-inspired character of the Big Pilot’s Watch. Displaying its information across four sub dials, the IW329603 follows the familiar design of IWC's perpetual calendar watches, which is all about legibility and harmony. The date appears at 3 o’clock, the month at 6 o’clock and the day of the week at 9 o’clock. At 12 o’clock, IWC places its signature double-moon display, showing the moon phase for observers in both the northern and southern hemispheres. The indication, too, provides a warm golden contrast against the dark background. Thanks to a newly calculated reduction gear, it requires a correction of just one day after 1,040 years. The four-digit year display, another characteristic feature of IWC's perpetual calendars, is positioned between 7 and 8 o’clock.

Perpetual Calendar ProSet: Going Back and Forth

The technical centerpiece is IWC’s Perpetual Calendar ProSet. The mechanism was introduced earlier this year at Watches and Wonders Geneva and represents a significant redesign of the brand’s approach to perpetual calendars. The calendar can be adjusted both forward and backward using a single position of the crown. Unlike conventional perpetual calendars, there are no additional correctors or separate crown positions required for calendar adjustment. The apparent simplicity of the system conceals a complex mechanical construction based entirely on gears and protected by four patents. Some of the components require intricate geometries that are manufactured using the LIGA process, a micro-structuring technology based on lithography and electroforming.

IWC Caliber 82665

The Perpetual Calendar ProSet is powered by IWC-manufactured Caliber 82665. The automatic movement features a nickel-phosphorus escapement and a silicon hairspring, while IWC’s bidirectional Pellaton winding system uses ceramic components to build up a 60-hour power reserve. Operating at 4 Hz, or 28,800 vibrations per hour, the movement is visible through the sapphire crystal case back, which carries a direct reference to Mercedes-Benz history: the first joint logo introduced after the 1926 merger of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft and Benz & Cie. The emblem combines Benz’s laurel wreath with Daimler’s famous three-pointed star, marking the coming together of the two pioneering automotive companies.

Two Forces in Engineering

The anniversary edition continues a collaboration that has produced watches inspired by several facets of Mercedes-Benz. Among them are the Pilot’s Watch Performance Chronograph 41 AMG and various Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team editions. IWC has also explored the shared utilitarian character of its Big Pilot’s Watch and the Mercedes-Benz G-Class in two special editions, including the Big Pilot’s Watch AMG G 63 in 18-carat Armor Gold and a model featuring a case made from ceramic matrix composite (CMC), developed in collaboration with the German Aerospace Center.

For Mercedes-Benz’s anniversary year, the automotive brand is undertaking its own global journey under the theme “140 Years. 140 Places.” Three new S-Class sedans are travelling to 140 locations across six continents, covering more than 50,000 kilometers and highlighting different aspects of the company’s heritage, technology and global presence.

The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar ProSet 140 Years Mercedes-Benz is equipped with a black rubber strap with EasX-CHANGE system and priced at €40,900 or approximately $47,163 when converted to USD.