IWC Schaffhausen’s Le Petit Prince Anniversary Edition Pilot’s watches Mark Two Decades Of Le Petit Prince Watches
Five new Le Petit Prince models extend the enduring literary collaboration.
Twenty years ago, IWC Schaffhausen, though the wisdom of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s “The Little Prince”, implores us to perceive the world around us, and not simply see things for what they are. “What is essential is invisible to the eye,” goes the famous quote in the novella from 1943. And so, through IWC’s Le Petit Prince collection of watches that pay tribute to Saint-Exupéry and his lifework, watch collectors, too, get to imbue their horological passion with a touch of meaning.
IWC’s involvement with the Fondation Antoine de Saint-Exupéry dates to 2006, a decade before the first Little Prince watch reached a wrist. The watch company had been financing the charity’s work with disadvantaged children through auctioned pieces and sustained support rather than a single licensing deal. That patience shows in what followed: a blue sunray dial, arriving only once the partnership had earned it, that became shorthand for the journey of the young prince in search of what matters.
For the partnership’s 20th anniversary, IWC has resisted the temptation to mark the occasion with a single commemorative piece. Instead, collectors are offered a spread of five watches spanning 36mm to 43mm iterations to suit different styles and occasions.
The Pilot’s Watch Mark XX Le Petit Prince comes in two 40mm versions: 18k gold with solid gold appliques, and another in stainless steel, both anchored by the same deep blue sunray dial—the signature hue of the collection—and powered by the in-house Calibre 32112 with 120-hour power reserve.
For sportier options, there are two stainless chronographs in 43mm or 41mm cases. Here, the watches’ blue sunray dials are endowed with gold-plated hands filled with Super-LumiNova. Last but not least, the Pilot’s Watch Automatic 36 sits at the other end of the size spectrum, its 36mm steel case with blue calfskin offering all-occasion versatility.
As a nod to the collaboration, an illustration of the Little Prince appears on every case back in the collection. The two Mark XX references keep it simple: the gold model reveals the drawing through a tinted sapphire window, while the steel version has it engraved directly into solid steel. The chronographs go further, their sapphire case backs also framing the illustration with the collection’s characteristic “Le Petit Prince” lettering, a moon, and two stars. IWC has also fitted the rubber-strapped models with its EasX-CHANGE system, letting straps be swapped without tools.
Two decades in, the collaboration between IWC and Fondation Antoine de Saint-Exupéryhas has evolved into a longstanding conversation of sorts—between the watchmaking house, the foundation’s message, and the watch lovers who continue to learn and ponder over the significance of a story that Saint-Exupéry told over 80 years ago.