Ok, one last trot around the show ring, this time with a Mark XI, to remind us of the pre-date, simple IWC Pilot dials. Unfortunately, the Mark XI isn’t mine. By no means perfect, but surprisingly close. I prefer my hands to the XI’s and that mine’s 39mm and not the more traditional 36mm. I’m liking this watch more and more. It has not been off my wrist for more than an hour or two since it arrived. As reluctant as I might be to admit it, I think Hodinkee did a good job on this piece. And they’ll be rarer than Mark X or XI IWCs, with only 500 made. (Hey, gotta have some hope that these won’t be going for under $5k on eBay in nine months!) BTW, factoid from Wikipedia that I did not know: “On 1 April 1944, as a result of an error, Schaffhausen was bombed by the United States Army Air Forces. The watch factory was hit by a bomb which failed to detonate after crashing through the rafters. The flames from incendiaries exploding nearby penetrated the building through the broken windows but were extinguished by the company's own fire brigade.” The dials say SWISS!
A family occasion today, the "thing" for yours truly and her ladyship with her newly arrived "saving the ocean turtle"
Omega cal 320 chronograph 101.009 1965 trying on with 1037 bracelet and 128 end links (wrong here, but proper for my dog-leg Constellation).