Eighty years after The Little Prince first took flight from the imagination of Antoine de Saint Exupéry, the story continues to shine in unexpected ways. Revered for its quiet reflections on love and loss, the novella has long transcended its pages. Now, through the lens of Swiss haute horlogerie, it finds new form – on the wrist.
IWC Schaffhausen, the house synonymous with aviation heritage and engineering precision, celebrates its enduring partnership with the Antoine de Saint Exupéry Youth Foundation with a watch that is both homage and marvel. The Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon Le Petit Prince (Ref. IW504901) is a limited edition of just 100 pieces, and it arrives with two bold debuts: IWC’s first-ever Le Petit Prince model in blue ceramic and one of the most technically complex references in the maison’s collection.
At 46.5 mm, the deep blue ceramic case radiates with a soft matte gleam, evoking the midnight skies of the story’s poetic universe. The sunray-finished dial, matched to a rubber strap of equal hue, creates a seamless visual field, punctuated by warm 18-carat 5N gold details: crown, case back ring, hands, and indices, all treated with Super-LumiNova® to glow softly in low light. This is no ordinary pilot’s watch – it is storytelling through material and precision.
Beneath the surface, the in-house calibre 51950 unfolds its full symphony of complexity. The perpetual calendar is synchronized down to a four-digit year and requires no correction for centuries. The flying tourbillon at 12 o’clock adds motion and magnetism, its 82 components rotating once every minute in a graceful defiance of gravity. But it is at 6 o’clock where whimsy meets engineering. Instead of the moon, the moon phase window reveals the Little Prince himself, alone on asteroid B612, flanked by tiny baobabs – a quiet reminder of the book’s emotional heart.
Turn the watch over, and the connection is sealed. A gold rotor shaped like the Little Prince standing on his planet is visible through the sapphire case back – a nod to both Saint Exupéry’s enduring narrative and IWC’s commitment to legacy craftsmanship.
This isn’t just a collector’s piece. It’s a wearable constellation, linking literature and mechanics in one perpetual orbit. Also don’t forget to check our list of the most expensive watches ever.
