IWC Big Pilot Explore all Pilot’s Watches Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar ProSet Le Petit Prince White Ceramic

The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar ProSet Le Petit Prince IW3396-01 debuted in 2026 as one of the launch references for IWC’s new Perpetual Calendar ProSet system, pairing that reengineered complication with a white ceramic case and the long-running Le Petit Prince design language. Within the initial ProSet trio, this reference stands apart through both its material execution and its slightly larger format, combining the compacted logic of the new perpetual calendar with a case made from white zirconium oxide ceramic and a deep blue dial with gradient finish. Its case measures 42.9 mm in diameter and 14.3 mm in height, making it marginally larger than the two 42 mm ProSet references introduced alongside it. The case is crafted from white zirconium oxide ceramic and fitted with a screw-in crown, while the steel case back ring is engraved with “Edition Le Petit Prince.” A convex sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides protects the dial, water resistance is rated to 10 bar, and the transparent sapphire case back reveals the movement. In this reference, the bright case material and slightly enlarged dimensions give the watch a more contemporary and technical profile than the steel and 5N gold versions. The dial is executed in deep blue with a gradient finish and paired with white printed numerals and indices, together with rhodium-plated hands filled with Super-LumiNova. This differs from the steel Le Petit Prince version, which uses rhodium-plated appliques, and gives the ceramic model a flatter and more graphic dial treatment that suits the lighter-coloured case. The perpetual calendar indications include the date, day, month, four-digit year, and perpetual moon phase for both the northern and southern hemispheres. Despite the amount of information presented, the display remains recognisably aligned with IWC’s established perpetual calendar layout, preserving visual continuity while the mechanism beneath has been thoroughly reworked. Inside is the IWC-manufactured calibre 82665, an automatic movement beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour and offering a power reserve of 60 hours. It integrates the new IWC-ProSet perpetual calendar system, which allows the calendar to be adjusted both forward and backward using a single crown position. The mechanism is fully synchronised and entirely gear-based, replacing the limitations of more traditional perpetual calendars with a system engineered for simpler daily-step correction. The movement also incorporates a recalculated moon phase reduction gear with a deviation of one day in 1,040 years, a nickel-phosphorus escapement, a silicon hairspring, and IWC’s Pellaton winding system with zirconium oxide ceramic components in highly stressed parts. Through the sapphire case back, the movement’s circular graining and Geneva stripes can be seen, together with the rotor’s gold-plated medallion depicting the Little Prince on his asteroid. The watch is fitted with a white rubber strap equipped with IWC’s EasX-CHANGE system. In this configuration, the strap reinforces the watch’s more modern and lighter overall character, while maintaining continuity with the case material and the contemporary side of IWC’s Pilot’s Watch design language. The Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar ProSet Le Petit Prince IW3396-01 is therefore notable not only for introducing a new perpetual calendar architecture, but for doing so in a reference whose ceramic case, blue gradient dial, and white rubber strap give it the most overtly contemporary identity of the three launch models.