Flying High for 75 Years: Meet the Facelifted IWC Mark XX

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Mark series, IWC Schaffhausen launches a new pilot’s watch Mark XX with a silver-plated dial. The black numerals and hour markers, as well as the triangular hour markers at 12 o’clock, have been slightly modified to enhance contrast and visibility. The elements are coated with a luminous coating, ensuring excellent readability in a variety of lighting conditions. Additionally, a discreet date window is seamlessly integrated at 3 o’clock. These details are also perfectly restored in some exquisite replica IWC watches. If you don’t want to spend so much money to buy genuine watches, you can take a look at these replica watches.

The latest addition to the pilot’s watch range is the Mark XX, which was last updated in 2022 and features blue, green and black dials. This model features a redesigned 40mm stainless steel case that displays a revised side profile and improved lug geometry. The polished bezel is particularly slim and unobtrusive, allowing maximum visibility of the dial. True to the tradition of the series, the case is water-resistant up to 100 meters and features a specially fixed front glass that remains in place even in the face of sudden pressure drops during aerial activities. This is also done very well on some replica watches. With these characteristics, the Mark XX retains its essence as a reliable pilot’s watch and is characterized by a subtle instrumental elegance.

The Mark XX faithfully carries on the legacy of the iconic Mark 11, originally crafted by IWC for the British Royal Air Force in 1948. Featuring the 89 caliber, it was encased in a soft-iron inner case to shield against magnetic fields. A paramount requirement was impeccable legibility, leading to a high-contrast dial with luminescent elements that facilitated easy time reading in conditions of limited visibility. This utilitarian design, resembling an easily readable cockpit instrument, has since become a distinctive hallmark of IWC Pilot’s Watches. Over the ensuing decades, it underwent continuous enhancements and refinements. Despite the advent of interference-free radio beacons rendering astronomical navigation obsolete, the Mark 11 served as a crucial “backup instrument” for pilots across various Commonwealth countries well into the 1980s.