IWC Big Pilot 7-Day IW500401 Stainless Steel Rubber Watch Straps

The IWC Big Pilot 7-Day IW500401 is an incredible achievement in the long history of IWC watches. International Watch Company (now IWC Schaffhausen with parent IWC International Watch Co. AG) was founded in 1868 by Florentine Ariosto Jones in Schaffhausen Switzerland. IWC has been building timepieces for many militaries since the 1940’s.

Since then, IWC has become a popular brand for aviators all over the world, and world travelers alike. For over 150 years of precision engineering and timeless design, owners of an IWC timepiece can experience unparalleled elegance on their wrist. Today, IWC Schaffhausen is one of the leaders in environmental protection and sustainable development.

IWC Big Pilot 7-Day IW500401

The IWC Big Pilot 7-Day IW500401 is a 46 mm stainless steel timepiece built between 2006 and 2012. This Swiss-made timepiece has a beautiful black dial which is larger than most dials. This makes it highly legible.

The numbers on the dial are displayed with large font. It leaves out the 4 numbers at the 12, 9, 6 and 4 o’clock positions, leaving more room for the other numbers. Although the dial at 3 o’clock is quite large and overshadows the 2 and 4 numerals. This large dial is the seven day power reserve indicator.

Building a watch with 7 days of power reserve is quite a substantial achievement in itself. Even the Rolex timepieces give you only 3 days of power reserve. The IWC Big Pilot 7-Day IW500401 gives you both a legible power reserve and it even gives you a danger-zone area in orange indicating you are in 1 day of power reserve.

With 7 days, this automatic self-winding movement timepiece should be able to stay wound without losing a beat for a week without fail. A pilot could literally fly around the world three and a half times before the watch would lose its power. However if the same pilot is wearing it, the movement of his arm would easily keep the timepiece fully charged.

The IWC Big Pilot 7-Day IW500401 46 mm is a large timepiece, but certainly smaller than the original 55mm Big Pilots that originally released. Today IWC is producing a IWC Big Pilot 7 days IW501001 timepiece. It has a price tag of $12,900, however it mirrors the IW500401 with nearly every detail with the minor exception of the 9 o’clock position numeral is visible on the IW501001 face, where it doesn’t appear on the IW500401.

One of the distinctive features of the IWC Big Pilot is the big crown on 3 o’clock position. It is in the shape of a diamond with an edge that makes it infinitely easy to make adjustments. The date window at the 6 o’clock position helps you keep track of the day of the month. The luminescent hands and markers keep this timepiece visible even on the dark nights or red eye flights.

The distinctive strap is a black leather which nicely matches the black dial itself. The adjustable deployment buckle is comfortable and utilizes the notches on the leather band to adjust up or down. This timepiece is water resistant to 200 feet. It is also protected by a scratch resistant sapphire crystal.

The movement of the IWC Big Pilot 7-Day IW500401 is is an in-house developed caliber 51110 which provides better reliability to the previous caliber. Some versions of this timepiece may have seen a caliber 51111 as IWC continuously updated the components. The newest movement that powers the Big Pilot 7-Day today is the caliber 52110 which features both a 168 hour power reserve, 257 components, 31 jewels and beats at a frequency of 28800 vph.

Rubber B has developed 7 different straps for the IWC Big Pilot 7-Day IW500401. These straps perfectly fit the 22 mm lug space of the IWC case.

This Vulcanized Rubber strap is perfectly engineered to fit the IWC Big Pilot case and the customer’s IWC buckle. This high-tech strap is built for many years of rugged enjoyment and contains a solid insert that has been calibrated for “Blocked Integration” to the Big pilot case for a flawless and secure mount. This strap is designed to mount the customer’s own IWC deployment buckle that came with their watch.

Although this strap looks and feels identical to Kevlar® or alligator skin, it is actually 100% RUBBER, and therefore waterproof for all aquatic activities including the ocean and pools. All Rubber B straps are made in Switzerland of pure vulcanized rubber. No coatings, blends or bonding are ever used in the manufacturing process, ensuring a quality product for years of enjoyment. For more information, visit our IWC Big Pilot strap page here.