Bokey TimeHello everyone, I am Bokey. Today, I bring you the IWC pilot replica watch, the special edition of the Big Pilot London boutique launched by ZF factory. The official model is: IW501008. This watch is still relatively rare in China. Because the official genuine product of IWC is limited to 138 pieces, it is not easy to see the genuine product in daily life. Now let’s simply talk about the specific workmanship details of the ZF factory IWC Big Pilot London special edition IW501008 and see if it is worth buying and playing with?
Genuine model: IWC pilot series IW501008. Price: 106,000.
The entire watch of the ZF Big Pilot London special edition is made of 316L stainless steel. In terms of size, it has a dial diameter of 46.2 millimeters and a thickness of 15.6 millimeters. With the onion-shaped large crown, it looks very large. Here, Bokey suggests that watch friends with a wrist circumference of less than 17 cm should consider carefully. After all, it is very difficult to control because the dial diameter is too large.
The dial adopts a blue radial pattern design, matched with Arabic numeral scales, plus the left and right eyes (seconds dial and kinetic energy dial), and the calendar window at six o’clock. It looks very coordinated and is a bit similar to the ZF factory IWC Portuguese Seven.
The watch mirror is made of sapphire glass and is coated with an anti-reflective blue film. Under the illumination of light, a very beautiful blue light effect can be seen.
Now let’s take a closer look at the specific workmanship of the ZF factory’s Big Pilot London special edition by magnifying several times. The printing of the entire dial is very in place, and the radial pattern processing of the dial is also relatively delicate. The simple two-hand design and the two small dials on the left and right look very symmetrical. The wide hour and minute hands are filled with a large area of luminous material. After fully absorbing sunlight, they are particularly bright at night.
The small dial on the left is designed as an independent small seconds hand and is always moving. The small dial on the right is the power reserve display. The genuine product has about 7 days of power storage, while the replica produced by ZF factory only has 72 hours of power storage. But this does not affect wearing. After all, this is an automatic mechanical watch. As for the power display function, it is also truly usable. The power indicator needle can be seen rising when winding manually or when wearing.
The calendar window at the 6 o’clock position also uses a metal rectangular frame inlay in sync with the genuine product. The font shape of the calendar is designed to match the genuine product. For some watches made by small factories, there will be phenomena such as ink overflow or incorrect font shape, which are obviously fake at a glance.
The one-piece case made of 316L stainless steel also synchronizes with the genuine product design in terms of polishing. The edge of the bezel and the R-angle of the lug are all polished with a mirror finish, and the other parts are polished with a relatively delicate brushed process.
On the other side is the very classic screw-in onion-shaped large crown. Through the picture, we can see that the texture of the crown is very well processed, and the IWC brand logo is also engraved in the middle of the crown. In terms of functions, let me briefly explain. After unscrewing the crown counterclockwise, you can wind the watch without pulling it out. When winding the watch, you can see the power indicator needle rising. It is recommended that watch friends wind the watch to between 5 and 6 for the first time when wearing it. Pulling out the first gear is for adjusting the calendar, and the second gear is for adjusting the time. It is recommended that watch friends adjust the time to around 6 o’clock when adjusting the calendar to avoid damaging the calendar disk.
The back cover here is designed with a closed back, which relatively reduces a flaw and there will be no obvious fake situation. The engraving on the back cover is also clear and powerful, not vague. The pattern in the center of the back cover is also engraved deeply. In general, the entire back cover is very good.
Regarding the movement, many watch friends are very curious. Bokey deliberately disassembled it and took pictures for everyone to view. Inside is a Cal.51111 movement produced in Dandong. It is homologous to the movement of the Portuguese Seven. The only difference is that this movement does not have a fake deck treatment. So all the gear jewels you see are truly useful. In terms of quality, the current workmanship level is not bad. It’s just that compared to the genuine product, it is still a little bit worse. Of course, one advantage is the closed back design. You can’t see the movement. Compared to the ZF factory Portuguese Seven, it is equivalent to one less flaw. At least it won’t be obviously fake at a glance from the back.
The strap here uses dark blue Italian calfskin. The overall stitching is very neat and there are no extra threads. It is very good. There are also engravings on the back. It is very in place. The softness of the belt is moderate. If you want a better wearing experience, you can upgrade to crocodile leather. That way, the texture will be better. The buckle here is also the latest model of IWC buckle. The surface brushing is very in place. The overall engraving is also very deep. The embossed effect of the English letters inside the buckle is also made. Very good.
Summary: Through the above simple evaluation, we know that this ZF factory IWC Big Pilot London special edition has no obvious fake problem in terms of overall appearance details, and there is no major problem with the movement. It can be said that without disassembling the movement to look at it, basically there will be no obvious fake. It is a very good watch.
