{"id":25834,"date":"2020-04-11T07:22:45","date_gmt":"2020-04-11T07:22:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.horbiter.com\/collectibles-the-iwc-utc-pilots-watch-3251\/"},"modified":"2024-05-24T20:57:23","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T18:57:23","slug":"collectibles-the-iwc-utc-pilots-watch-3251","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horbiter.com\/en\/collectibles-the-iwc-utc-pilots-watch-3251\/","title":{"rendered":"The IWC UTC Pilot\u2019s Watch 3251 watch hands-on"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was looking for something out of the ordinary for our Horbiter\u2019s Collectibles<\/strong> column, dedicated to those watches that are out of production and had in my mind an\u00a0IWC<\/strong>. I was therefore leafing through the pages of an old AD<\/strong> (Architectural Digest) magazine, which is perhaps the most widely read home mag in the world and fills up my studio\u2019s library, as I did remember that often were ads from\u00a0IWC<\/strong>\u00a0on its pages, back in the 90s.<\/p>\n

\"Architectural<\/p>\n

During those years IWC<\/strong> launched an ad campaign, rather ironic, to promote its timepieces. It emphasized that its products were made just for men, a claim that perfectly matched the Pilot\u2019s Watch<\/strong> collection. Among them was one just made for the launch, in 1998, of the IWC UTC Pilot\u2019s Watch ref. 3251<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"IWC<\/p>\n

The IWC UTC Pilot\u2019s Watch ref. 3251<\/strong> seems to be quite basic at first glance, while it allows to set the time according to the UTC<\/strong>, else\u00a0Universal Time Coordinated<\/strong>, the standard for setting time worldwide officially introduced in 1972<\/strong>, in replacement of the GMT<\/strong> standard. IWC<\/strong> has hence made a mechanical movement, the caliber<\/strong> 37526<\/strong>, that lets you set hour and date, wherever on the globe and, most importantly, whatever the travel itinerary.<\/p>\n

\"world<\/p>\n

According to the UTC<\/strong> standard, time set changes by -1 hour while traveling west while it adds one hour towards east, every 15 degrees in longitude. Simmetricaly, on the globe, to the UTC<\/strong> is placed the International Date Line<\/strong> or IDL<\/strong> which marks the date change: if you\u2019re crossing it moving east, you go back one day and viceversa.<\/p>\n

\"International<\/p>\n

The uttermost for a pilot, a frequent traveller or just a watch enthusiast who\u2019s traveling across UTC<\/strong> and IDL<\/strong> is to set simultaneously home time, actual time and date. The IWC UTC Pilot\u2019s Watch<\/strong> performs all these functions\u00a0and has been, as far as it concerns, the first watch ever to do that.<\/p>\n

\"IWC<\/p>\n

Pulling out the crown to its external position, it is possible to set the 24 hour <\/strong>disc, visible through an arched disc placed at 12, and move\u00a0all the hands but the seconds hand. This operation is used to set the home time just before leaving. Moving the crown to its middle position lets you operate, while the seconds hand is still sweeping, the central jumping hour hand (TZC<\/strong> = Time Zone Corrector<\/strong>) forth or back to set the hour where you\u2019re just landed.<\/p>\n

\"IWC<\/p>\n

As mentioned above, the IWC UTC Pilot\u2019s Watch<\/strong> is a\u00a0UTC<\/strong> and IDL<\/strong> compliant timepiece as it manages, all in all, time and date as well across the globe, through a complex system of gears developed by IWC<\/strong>, allows the date disc not just to advance but also to get back, if you\u2019re crossing the International Date Line<\/strong> towards east.<\/p>\n

\"IWC<\/p>\n

In Schaffausen technicians have deeply reworked an ETA<\/strong> based caliber, making a small mechanical wonder, boasting a design that is as appealing as ever, even 16 years after it has been first unveiled: the round case is nicely brushed, its black dial is unmistakably Pilot\u2019s Watch<\/strong> looking, with a luminous triangular dot applied at 12, indexes and hands treated with Superluminova, and so perfectly, they immediately start to glow as light begins to fade.<\/p>\n

The movement is encased into a soft iron case to protect it against the effect of magnetic fields and the sapphire crystal is secured against decompression up to 16<\/strong>.000<\/strong> meters<\/strong> in height, two of the standard features in any Pilot\u2019s Watch<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"IWC<\/p>\n

One of the features I do like the most in this watch as in any old IWC Pilot\u2019s Watch<\/strong> timepiece is that nice Buffalo leather strap with bright stitching. It becomes nicer and nicer as time goes by and, as it happens with a pair of leather gloves, acquires that aviator vintage like look over the years.<\/p>\n

You may find an IWC UTC Pilot\u2019s Watch ref. 3251<\/strong> at a market price in the range of 2,500-3,500\u20ac<\/strong>, while you have the chance to add to your personal collection a nice Pilot\u2019s Watch<\/strong>, fit for an everyday use with its 39mm<\/strong> wide case, featuring good finishes and an attractive, useful complication.<\/p>\n